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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:16 PM
Original message
Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News, FRI. 12/1/06 What Next?
I personally would prefer to see HAVA repealed in it's entirety, and a comprehensive new Bill introduced.
Meanwhile below is HR 6200 for everyone's review. With these things we would have to view it in the context of HAVA itself.
Why restrict to presidential? Why not have a preliminary count on "provisionals"?
What about disenfranchisement protections?

We should make repealing or drastically revising HAVA our priority - My suggestion is to write your representatives, start early and write often.


Paper Ballot Act of 2006 (Introduced in House)
HR 6200 IH

109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6200

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to conduct Presidential elections using paper ballots and to count those ballots by hand, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 27, 2006

Mr. KUCINICH (for himself, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. LEE, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. SOLIS, Ms. WATERS, and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to conduct Presidential elections using paper ballots and to count those ballots by hand, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Paper Ballot Act of 2006'.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING USE OF HAND-COUNTED PAPER BALLOTS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.

Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
`(7) SPECIAL RULES FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS- Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, in the case of a regularly scheduled general election for the electors of President and Vice President (beginning with the election in November 2008), the following rules shall apply:
`(A) The State shall conduct the election using only paper ballots.
`(B) The State shall ensure that the number of ballots cast at a precinct or equivalent location which are placed inside a single box or similar container does not exceed 500.
`(C) The ballots cast at a precinct or equivalent location shall be counted by hand by election officials at the precinct, and a representative of each political party with a candidate on the ballot, as well as any interested member of the public, may observe the officials as they count the ballots. The previous sentence shall not apply with respect to provisional ballots cast under section 302(a).'.

SEC. 3. MOVING OBSERVATION OF WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY TO ELECTION DAY DURING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION YEARS.

Section 6103(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting `the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in 2008 and every fourth year thereafter, and' after `Washington's Birthday,'; and
(2) by inserting `in any other year' after `February'.


All members welcome and encouraged to participate. :hi:

Please post Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News on this thread.

If you can:

1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web.

2. Post stories using the "Election Fraud and Reform News Sources" listed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph ...

3. Re-post stories and announcements you find on DU, providing a link to the original thread with thanks to the Original Poster, too.

4. Start a discussion thread by re-posting a story you see on this thread.


If you want to know how to post "News Banners" or other images, go here:

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Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph ...

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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:20 PM
Response to Original message
1. Here are all the other amendments introduced so far:
1. <109th> H.R.278 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require voting systems to produce a verifiable paper record of each vote cast and to ensure the security of electronic data, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep King, Steve (introduced 1/6/2005) Cosponsors (29)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 1/6/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

2. <109th> H.R.470 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require the software used in the operation of an electronic voting machine to meet certain requirements as a condition of the use of the machine in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Larson, John B. (introduced 2/1/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 2/1/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

3. <109th> H.R.533 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to protect voting rights and to improve the administration of Federal elections, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Conyers, John, Jr. (introduced 2/2/2005) Cosponsors (49)
Committees: House Administration; House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 2/2/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

4. <109th> H.R.550 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified permanent paper record or hard copy under title III of such Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Holt, Rush D. (introduced 2/2/2005) Cosponsors (222)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 2/2/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

5. <109th> H.R.704 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified permanent record or hardcopy under title III of such Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Gibbons, Jim (introduced 2/9/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 2/9/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

6. <109th> H.R.939 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified paper record, to improve provisional balloting, to impose additional requirements under such Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Jones, Stephanie Tubbs (introduced 2/17/2005) Cosponsors (79)
Committees: House Administration; House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 4/4/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

7. <109th> H.R.1835 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to allow all eligible voters to vote by mail in Federal elections.
Sponsor: Rep Davis, Susan A. (introduced 4/26/2005) Cosponsors (15)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 4/26/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

8. <109th> H.R.2104 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to permit local jurisdictions within a State to conduct early voting in elections for Federal office held in such jurisdictions, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes (introduced 5/4/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 5/4/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

9. <109th> H.R.2250 : To require the Attorney General to investigate allegations of violations of Federal criminal law regarding elections not later than 30 days after receiving the allegation, to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish standards for the distribution of voter registration application forms and the handling of absentee ballots, to require individuals to produce photo identification as a condition of registering to vote or voting in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Green, Mark (introduced 5/11/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: House Administration; House Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 7/1/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

10. <109th> H.R.3010 : Making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Regula, Ralph (introduced 6/21/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Appropriations; Senate Appropriations
House Reports: 109-143; Senate Reports: 109-103; Latest Conference Report: 109-337 (in Congressional Record H11348-11441)
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 109-149

11. <109th> H.R.3094 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to improve the fairness and accuracy of voter registration in elections for Federal office, establish a uniform standard for the treatment of provisional ballots cast at an incorrect polling place, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Hoyer, Steny H. (introduced 6/28/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 6/28/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

12. <109th> H.R.3163 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to delay for 48 months the deadlines by which States must comply with the election administration requirements of title III of such Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Goode, Virgil H., Jr. (introduced 6/30/2005) Cosponsors (3)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 6/30/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

13. <109th> H.R.3557 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to permit individuals to register to vote at polling places on the date of an election, to cast ballots at designated polling places prior to the date of an election, and to obtain absentee ballots for an election for any reason, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Hastings, Alcee L. (introduced 7/28/2005) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Administration; House Government Reform; House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 10/12/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

14. <109th> H.R.3910 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require individuals to present a government-issued photo identification as a condition of voting in elections for Federal office, to prohibit any individual from tabulating votes in an election for Federal office unless the individual has been subject to a criminal background check, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Feeney, Tom (introduced 9/27/2005) Cosponsors (10)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 9/27/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

15. <109th> H.R.4141 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to permit individuals to use a national write-in absentee ballot to cast votes in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Millender-McDonald, Juanita (introduced 10/25/2005) Cosponsors (9)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 10/25/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

16. <109th> H.R.4225 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to keep confidential the addresses of victims of domestic violence which are included in the State's computerized Statewide voter registration list, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. (introduced 11/3/2005) Cosponsors (16)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 11/3/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

17. <109th> H.R.4666 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to extend until November 2006 the deadline by which States which received payments under such Act for the replacement of punch card or lever voting systems must ensure that all such systems are replaced.
Sponsor: Rep Fitzpatrick, Michael G. (introduced 1/31/2006) Cosponsors (24)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 1/31/2006 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

18. <109th> H.R.4844 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require each individual who desires to vote in an election for Federal office to provide the appropriate election official with a government-issued photo identification, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Hyde, Henry J. (introduced 3/2/2006) Cosponsors (11)
Committees: House Administration; Senate Rules and Administration
House Reports: 109-666
Latest Major Action: 11/13/2006 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

19. <109th> H.R.4989 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to clarify the treatment of provisional ballots cast in elections for Federal office, to ensure that polling places are adequately staffed and have sufficient equipment, to direct States to issue durable voter registration cards to each individual who registers to vote in elections for Federal office in the State, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Holt, Rush D. (introduced 3/16/2006) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 3/16/2006 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

20. <109th> H.R.5776 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish standards for the distribution of voter registration application forms, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Pearce, Stevan (introduced 7/12/2006) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 7/12/2006 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

21. <109th> H.R.5777 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit a State receiving payments under such Act from using the payments for public communications which promote or oppose a candidate for public office or political party.
Sponsor: Rep Pearce, Stevan (introduced 7/12/2006) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 7/12/2006 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

22. <109th> H.R.5913 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require an individual to provide proof that the individual is a citizen of the United States and to present a government-issued photo identification as a condition of casting a ballot in an election for Federal office, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Tancredo, Thomas G. (introduced 7/26/2006) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Administration; House Transportation and Infrastructure
Latest Major Action: 7/27/2006 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines.

23. <109th> H.R.6187 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to reimburse jurisdictions for amounts paid or incurred in preparing, producing, and using contingency paper ballots in the November 7, 2006, Federal general election.
Sponsor: Rep Holt, Rush D. (introduced 9/26/2006) Cosponsors (31)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 9/26/2006 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

24. <109th> H.R.6200 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to conduct Presidential elections using paper ballots and to count those ballots by hand, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. (introduced 9/27/2006) Cosponsors (20)
Committees: House Administration; House Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 9/27/2006 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

25. <109th> S.17 : A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to protect voting rights and to improve the administration of Federal elections, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Dodd, Christopher J. (introduced 1/24/2005) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: Senate Rules and Administration
Latest Major Action: 1/24/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

26. <109th> S.330 : A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified permanent record or hardcopy under title III of such Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Ensign, John (introduced 2/9/2005) Cosponsors (13)
Committees: Senate Rules and Administration
Latest Major Action: 2/9/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

27. <109th> S.414 : A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to protect the right of Americans to vote through the prevention of voter fraud, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen McConnell, Mitch (introduced 2/17/2005) Cosponsors (4)
Committees: Senate Rules and Administration
Latest Major Action: 2/17/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

28. <109th> S.450 : A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified paper record, to improve provisional balloting, to impose additional requirements under such Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham (introduced 2/17/2005) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: Senate Rules and Administration
Latest Major Action: 2/17/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

29. <109th> S.3943 : A bill to amend the Help America vote Act of 2002 to reimburse jurisdictions for amounts paid or incurred in preparing, producing, and using contingency paper ballots in the November 7, 2006, Federal general election.
Sponsor: Sen Boxer, Barbara (introduced 9/26/2006) Cosponsors (8)
Committees: Senate Rules and Administration
Latest Major Action: 9/26/2006 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

30. <109th> S.AMDT.2289 to H.R.3010 To increase funding for disabled voter access services under the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
Sponsor: Sen Dayton, Mark (introduced 10/26/2005) Cosponsors (1)
Latest Major Action: 10/27/2005 Senate amendment agreed to. Status: Amendment SA 2289 as modified agreed to in Senate by Voice Vote.

search at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:24 PM
Response to Original message
2. PA: Chester Co. Results In Democratic Majority
CBS Channel 3

Dec 1, 2006 3:06 pm US/Eastern

(AP) WEST CHESTER, PA. Chester County election officials have formalized the vote count in a legislative election that would give Democrats a majority in the state House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years.

Republicans would have until Wednesday to file for a recount in the race, in which Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith defeated Republican Shannon Royer by 23 votes.

County Chief Clerk Evelyn Walkter says the results will be sent to the Department of State for final certification if they are not challenged by the deadline.

http://cbs3.com/topstories/local_story_335150819.html
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:28 PM
Response to Original message
3. FL: Congressional Race Still in Dispute
The Conservative Voice

December 01, 2006 02:44 PM EST

By Sher Zieve – Although there have been 3 counts of the votes cast in Florida’s 13th Congressional district election, Democrat candidate Christine Jennings is calling for another. Republican Vernon Buchanon has been named the certified winner and with each recount his lead is said to have increased.

Voting machines have been rechecked several times and Florida Secretary of State Sue Cobb said that the machines performed “flawlessly”. However, Democrat Jennings is continuing to challenge the votes.

Leftist groups including Voter Action, Electronic Frontier Foundation, ACLU, and People for the American Way (Florida) have joined forces in a lawsuit against Florida’s Sarasota County. These groups are also petitioning the court to have the Democrat candidate declared the winner--based on "statistical models and eyewitnesses".

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/20738.html

I just report...
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:30 PM
Response to Original message
4. CNET: Report: Paperless e-voting is not secure
By Candace Lombardi
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: December 1, 2006, 11:25 AM PST

A key advisory agency to a federal commission on election standards has come down on the side of those who want voter-verified paper trails.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) says the U.S. government should decertify "direct-record electronic" machines that are not "software independent," according to a draft report (PDF).

The final report will be presented Monday and Tuesday to the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC), which is working on new voting system guidelines. The EAC was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to develop and oversee federal election voting guidelines, and administer funding to states that follow the law's requirements. The law also made NIST the primary advisor to the EAC over matters of voting technology.

Direct-record electronic, or DRE systems, NIST said, "in practical terms cannot be made secure" in their current form because the results can not be independently verified. The report stresses the necessity of "software-independent" systems for verifying votes.

"A lot of us have been saying it, but to have a body like NIST, that is so well respected and non-partisan and neutral say it gives credibility to the argument," said Computer Science Professor Avi Rubin, technical director of the Information Security Institute at Johns Hopkins University, who has read the report. "I think we will now have a lot of play with legislators who are looking at these things."

http://news.com.com/Report+Paperless+e-voting+is+not+secure/2100-1028_3-6140079.html
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:33 PM
Response to Original message
5. VT: Auditing the auditor's race starts Monday


MONTPELIER, Vt. -- County clerks all over Vermont made final preparations Friday for the start of a vote recount in the Nov. 7 election for state auditor, which ended in a 137-vote victory for incumbent Randy Brock.

Beginning Monday, teams of volunteers in the state's 14 counties will count about 250,000 ballots to see if Brock's win over Democrat Thomas M. Salmon stands. Salmon, son of former Gov. Thomas Salmon, requested the do-over, which will be Vermont's first statewide recount since 1980.
State Police have completed their canvass of town clerks' offices to collect the sealed bags of ballots and delivered them to all 14 county courthouses.
On Monday morning, Superior Court clerks begin cracking open the bags, counting out 50 ballots at a time, and handing them to teams of four people to recount. It's a laborious process that could take some time to sort out and complete.

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=5756732&nav=4QcS
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:35 PM
Response to Original message
6. AZ: Fed finds no tampering in 2004 voting bulge


PHOENIX A federal investigation into a ballot counting in a 2004 legislative race that saw hundreds of additional votes turn up in a recount found no evidence of tampering but suggested there could have been problems with election equipment or ballots.

A Republican candidate for a second state House seat from District 20 in Phoenix and Chandler in Maricopa County pulled ahead in the 2004 primary after the additional votes turned up in the recount.
The F-B-I launched an investigation after supporters of the candidate who lost questioned how hundreds of additional votes could surface.
U-S Attorney for Arizona Paul Charlton says the F-B-I found no evidence of intentional miscalibration of ballot scanners or of tampering with the ballots themselves.

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5756379&nav=HMO6
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:37 PM
Response to Original message
7. IN: 9 Votes Decide Gibson Co. Council Race


New Media Producer: Kerry Corum

There's finally a winner in the District Two Gibson County Council race:

Challenger, Cecil Allen.

Election Recount Commission members meet in the courthouse basement recounting, voter precincts to determine a winner.

They say Allen beat out incumbent, George Ankenbrand, by nine votes.

The Recount Commission then had to present the results in court, to Judge Penrod for certification.

Cecil Allen says, "It's pretty exciting. I tell ya, I was kind of worried there for a little bit, because we were kind of running neck-and-neck. I think I was ahead by one vote, but the last few precincts pulled me out."

http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=5755297&nav=3w6o
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:40 PM
Response to Original message
8. Slate: Ken Mehlman gives Republicans more reason to kill themselves


Bruce Reed
Updated Friday, Dec. 1, 2006, at 1:50 PM ET

Belly of the Beast: Last year, the big rage was sudoku. These days, the most popular Japanese craze in Republican circles is seppuku—the "belly-cutting" ritualistic suicide better known as hari-kiri.

Republicans have been practicing all week long. On Iraq, James Baker has generously offered to hold the sword; all President Bush has to do is fall on it. Bill Frist changed his mind about doctor-assisted suicide, pulling the plug on his presidential bid rather than pretend a miracle would revive his chances. Yesterday, it was RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman's turn, in a speech to GOP governors about how Republicans had offed themselves in the midterm elections.
Mehlman is a master of apologies. Last year, he told the NAACP how sorry he was for Republicans' divisive, racist Southern strategy of the last three decades: "Some Republicans gave up on winning the African American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong." In yesterday's speech, he was so busy atoning for Republican losses, he forgot to apologize for the divisive, racist Southern ad that helped Republican Bob Corker hold the Senate seat in Tennessee.

http://www.slate.com/id/2154580
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:43 PM
Response to Original message
9. NY Times: Mexico Swears In New Leader, Quickly
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: December 2, 2006

MEXICO CITY, Dec. 1 — It was not pretty, but Felipe Calderón, the new president of Mexico, managed to take the oath of office in Congress today, while leftist lawmakers whistled and catcalled and the losing leftist candidate staged a huge protest march down the central avenue of the capital.

Mr. Calderón and members of his conservative National Action Party defeated attempts by the leftist Democratic Revolution Party to block the entries to the Congress. With his own partisans crowding the dais, the new president and his predecessor, Vicente Fox, were spirited in by bodyguards through a door near the front of the chamber at 9:50 a.m.

Mr. Calderón quickly took the oath of office, and Mr. Fox handed over the traditional presidential sash and left the chamber. The entire ceremony lasted four minutes.

All the while, opposition politicians blew whistles and held up banners suggesting Mr. Calderón was “a traitor to democracy.”

Earlier in the day, fisticuffs and pushing matches broke out between right-wing and left-wing lawmakers as they jockeyed for position in the chamber, with leftists trying to obstruct the entranceways and the conservatives ringing the dais and podium.

Never before in modern Mexican history has a president been sworn under such chaotic and divisive conditions.

The courts determined Mr. Calderón, 44 years old, won the election last July 2 by about 240,000 votes out of 41 million ballots cast. But his principal rival, Andrés Manuel Lopéz Obrador, has insisted that the official results are tainted and has never conceded defeat.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/02/world/americas/02mexicocnd.html?hp&ex=1165035600&en=35b45901b1a7ba1a&ei=5094&partner=homepage
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:46 PM
Response to Original message
10. PA: Election Officials to Certify Key Race


POSTED: 12-01-2006 01:08 PM ET
MODIFIED: 12-01-2006 01:08 PM ET

The results should become official today. Chester County election officials plan to issue a preliminary certification of a race that would give Democrats a majority in the state House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years. Republicans would have until Wednesday to file for a recount in the race, in which Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith defeated Republican Shannon Royer by 23 votes. The elections board decided against including eleven challenged provisional ballots in the 156th district, letting stand a tally completed Tuesday. A spokesman for the House Republican Campaign Committee, says the party has not yet decided whether to seek a recount. If the results stand, they will give Democrats a one seat majority.

http://wfmz.com/view/?id=31069
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:49 PM
Response to Original message
11. MI: Sanford recount time set
Our Midland.com

By Josh Grosteffon
12/01/2006

The time and date are set to figure out who will represent Sanford on its village council for the next few years.
Staff from the Midland County Clerk's office will recount the ballots on Dec. 12 at 1:30 p.m. at the County Services Building.

Election workers will count ballots by hand, only looking at the village council race, checking for the same things a machine would.

"We're basically going to be counting the connecting arrows," said County Clerk Karen Holcomb.

This is her staff's first recount, but she expects it to be more straightforward than the old, punch-style ballots.

Carl Hamann, zoning board chair for the Village of Sanford, requested the recount after he lost to incumbent village president Ron Lowry by one vote.

http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17536457&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 03:54 PM
Response to Original message
12. Intermission with Jerry Amerongen (Ballard Street)


http://www.comics.com/creators/ballardst/archive/ballardst-20061128.html
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:28 PM
Response to Original message
13. MT: Montana politician changes parties
Dunton Springs Evening Post

2006/12

By JENNIFER BYRD, Associated Press Writer Sat Nov 18, 11:09 AM ET

HELENA, Mont. - A Montana state senator has officially changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, breaking a tie to give his new party a 26-24 advantage.

He said he had been thinking about switching parties for about 12 years and made the decision at the suggestion of Democratic state Sen. Mike Cooney, who contacted him after the Nov. 7 election put both parties on an even footing.

Democrats have a 50-49 edge in the Montana House. One Democrat, Sheila Hogan, lost by just 24 votes and party officials said this past week that she will ask for a recount; if she were to win, the Democrats‘ lead would change to 51-48.

http://www.onelocalnews.com/duntonsprings/ViewArticle.aspx?id=30835&source=2
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:31 PM
Response to Original message
14. OR: Election workers plan recount Monday
Edited on Fri Dec-01-06 04:32 PM by rumpel
The Daily Astorian

12/1/2006 12:45:00 PM

One vote separates Dave Moore and Tita Montero for a position on the Seaside City Council
Clatsop County elections workers on Monday will hand count the ballots in the one-vote race between Dave Moore and Tita Montero for the Ward 2 seat on the Seaside City Council.

Moore edged out Montero by a vote of 179 to 178. The one-vote margin triggers an automatic manual recount by the county elections office, which will take place at 10 a.m. at the Judge Guy Boyington Building in Astoria.

County Clerk Nicole Williams said a four-person election board will handle the process, which begins with unsealing the ballots from that race and dividing them into votes for Moore, votes for Montero, write-in votes and ballots with no candidate marked.

The team will then double-check any duplicate or enhanced ballots, then hand-count all of the Moore and Montero ballots twice.

http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=395&ArticleID=38416&TM=57013
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:35 PM
Response to Original message
15. CounterCurrents: How Many Votes Were Stolen or Surpressed?


By Bruce Dixon

02 December, 2006
Black Agenda Report


“...roughly 3 million Democratic votes in November 2006 appear to have been cast but not counted, or shifted to the Republican column”

You'd barely know it from inside the opaque bubble that is corporate mainstream news, but millions of Americans, going into this November's election, feared that their votes, if they were allowed to cast them at all, might not be counted. The few media mentions of this widespread fear that Republican operatives might somehow hijack the midterm elections vanished utterly in the wake of substantial Democratic victories nationwide.

But a closer look at this November's elections indicates that if they weren't stolen it wasn't because nobody tried.

On election night 2006, attorney Jonathan Simon of Election Defense Alliance monitored the unadjusted National Election Pool data as it came online at CNN. Exit poll data has long been the standard worldwide for ascertaining the integrity of vote counts. But just as in 2004, this November's unadjusted exit poll data showed results very different from both the announced election returns and the “adjusted” poll data released the following day. The unadjusted polling indicates that Democrats nationwide may have won the election not by 7%, but by a whopping 11%. Thus roughly 3 million Democratic votes in November 2006 appear to have been cast but not counted, or shifted to the Republican column.

It wasn't that Republicans didn't try to steal the election, according to Simon. They just didn't steal enough to make up for the groundswell of opposition in the final weeks.

http://www.countercurrents.org/us-dixon021206.htm
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:38 PM
Response to Original message
16. Reuters: E-voting needs paper trail, scientists say
Fri Dec 1, 2006 12:02pm ET

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Electronic voting machines should not be used in the United States without a paper-based backup to ensure they tally votes correctly, computer experts working for the U.S. government say.

Scientists working for the National Institute for Standards and Technology warned in a draft report that U.S. states shouldn't use touch-screen voting systems unless they also print ballots on paper when they are cast so voters and election officials can ensure they are counted accurately.

Touch-screen systems have been widely adopted since the disputed 2000 U.S. presidential election highlighted flaws in punch-card ballots and other antiquated methods.

The draft report backed up the assessment of many independent computer scientists, who have argued for years that such systems are vulnerable to tampering.

"In principle, a single clever, dishonest programmer in a voting machine company could rig an entire statewide election if the state uses mainly one kind of system," the report said.

Touch-screen systems "cannot be made secure," it said.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-12-01T170152Z_01_N01244108_RTRUKOC_0_US-ELECTIONS-VOTING-SECURITY.xml&WTmodLoc=USNewsHome_C2_domesticNews-1
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:40 PM
Response to Original message
17. CA: Neely holds onto win
Times-Standard

Bass, Leonard take tight races
Kimberly Wear The Times Standard
Article Launched:12/01/2006 09:57:36 AM PST

EUREKA -- A final tally of absentee and provisional ballots completed Thursday left tight races even tighter, but didn't change Election Night results.
Fourth District Supervisor Bonnie Neely retained her seat with a 191-vote lead over challenger Nancy Flemming, while Councilwoman Virginia Bass ousted Mayor Peter LaVallee by 59 votes and Councilman Jeff Leonard eked out a second term over Planning Commissioner Ron Kuhnel by 28 votes.

Measure U, the Utility Users' Tax, passed with 51.6 percent of the vote.

The final count took place in a windowless room of the Elections Office where journalists and members of different political camps gathered to watch election workers feed the last ballots into a machine.

http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_4754179
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:43 PM
Response to Original message
18. NJ: Your vote may or may not have been counted on Election Day
Asbury Park Press

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/1/06

BY MICHELE ROSEN

Election Day should be a celebration of our Democratic government and the rights and privileges we enjoy. While Americans have grown increasingly cynical about their government and those who serve in it, the fact so many people vote indicates we take those rights and privileges seriously. Perhaps that is why the events of the past few weeks in Ocean County have been so distressing.

We know the election was flawed by what the Ocean County Board of Elections calls "glitches" in the program that tabulated the votes on the voting machines for Barnegat. And we know the board conducted a recheck of the vote totals on all of the machines used.

The so-called "glitches," however, are not glitches at all, but major flaws that may have changed the election results, at least at the municipal level, and the recheck proved nothing at all.

Instead of code words that understate the problems that occurred and press releases that ignore the issues, voters in Barnegat and throughout Ocean County need explanations from the board.

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061201/OPINION/612010384/1030
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:45 PM
Response to Original message
19. CA: District 6 council seat race is set
San Jose Mercury News

FINAL TALLIES MAKE RUNOFF OFFICIAL
By Connie Skipitares
Mercury News
The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters has released its final election night tally, making it official -- non-profit executive director Steve Tedesco will go up against environmental software executive Pierluigi Oliverio in a March runoff for San Jose's District 6 city council seat.

Oliverio on Nov. 7 garnered 6,984 votes, about 30.57 percent of the vote, and not enough to avoid a runoff for the seat that covers the Rose Garden, Willow Glen and a small part of downtown.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/16139143.htm
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:46 PM
Response to Original message
20. CO: Douglas County Seeks Solutions To Voting Problems
CBS Denver

Dec 1, 2006 7:50 am US/Mountain

Katherine Blake
Reporting

(CBS4) CASTLE ROCK, Colo. An investigative panel in Douglas County looking into voting problems on Election Day has started to create a list of solutions. The ideas were pitched at the group's first public meeting on Thursday night.

Eleven members of the fact finding panel also listened as Douglas County Clerk and Recorder Carole Murray described what she called the perfect storm.

The county relied on 300 new electronic voting machines to process all the people casting ballots.

Murray said problems started when voters took longer than expected at the machines.

"Worst case scenario, we thought we should be able to handle 43,000 voters, best case 72,000 voters," she said. "Well, we couldn't handle 30,000 voters."

http://cbs4denver.com/politics/local_story_335095232.html
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:48 PM
Response to Original message
21. Al: Voting machines pass test for recount today


Law requires new tally in judge's race, Amendment 1
Friday, December 01, 2006
By DAVID HOLDEN
Times Staff Writer dholden@htimes.com
Madison County election and party officials and both candidates for a circuit judge's race said Thursday that they were satisfied with the results of tests on voting machines that will be used today to recount ballots from the Nov. 7 general election.

An automatic recount was ordered in the Madison County circuit judge Place 5 race between Democratic incumbent Laura W. Hamilton and Republican challenger Michael Seibert.

After an official canvass of the votes two weeks ago, Hamilton was declared the winner with 39,911 (50.18 percent) to Seibert's 39,553 (49.73 percent).

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1164968447313550.xml&coll=1
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:50 PM
Response to Original message
22. WAPO:Security Of Electronic Voting Is Condemned
Paper Systems Should Be Included, Agency Says
By Cameron W. Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 1, 2006; Page A01


Paperless electronic voting machines used throughout the Washington region and much of the country "cannot be made secure," according to draft recommendations issued this week by a federal agency that advises the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

The assessment by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, one of the government's premier research centers, is the most sweeping condemnation of such voting systems by a federal agency.

In a report hailed by critics of electronic voting, NIST said that voting systems should allow election officials to recount ballots independently from a voting machine's software. The recommendations endorse "optical-scan" systems in which voters mark paper ballots that are read by a computer and electronic systems that print a paper summary of each ballot, which voters review and elections officials save for recounts.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/30/AR2006113001637.html
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:54 PM
Response to Original message
23. WAPO: FEC to Pols: Blow Whistle on Yourself (this one is for LS)
By JIM KUHNHENN
The Associated Press
Friday, December 1, 2006; 12:33 AM


WASHINGTON -- The Federal Election Commission on Thursday took steps to encourage politicians and contributors to report their own possible violations of campaign finance laws by offering them significantly reduced fines.

Commission officials said the number of self-reported violations has increased recently, prompting the need for a specific policy that spells out how the FEC will dispose of such cases.

"This is not meant to be a get out of jail free card," said Commissioner Ellen Weintraub. "If you're racing to the FEC three steps in front of the guy who's got the complaint in his hand against you, this policy is probably not for you."

Before fully adopting the policy, the commission has asked for public comment on the proposal by Jan. 29.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/30/AR2006113000840.html

:popcorn:
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:56 PM
Response to Original message
24. Ny: Judge orders election reform in Albany
Times Union

Albany County must develop written policies for processing absentee applications and ballots

By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
Last updated: 2:30 p.m., Thursday, November 30, 2006

ALBANY -- A judge has ordered reform of the way absentee ballots are disbursed in Albany County, settling a 2004 case of alleged election fraud.

The case claimed votes were stolen from low-income and minority residents of the Albany Housing Authority.
Under the decree, which was formalized on Tuesday with U.S. Magistrate Judge Randolph F. Treece, the Albany County Board of Elections must, within two years, develop a written policies and procedures manual for processing absentee applications and ballots.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=540196&category=&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=11/30/2006
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:59 PM
Response to Original message
25. VIDEO - Brad's Appearance on 'Week in Review'
BLOGGED BY Brad ON 12/1/2006 12:01PM

On Election Meltdown 2006…
I appeared on the "Week in Review" program, hosted by Bob Jimenez, a week or two ago out here in Los Angeles to discuss fallout from the 2006 Election Meltdown. The show was taped on November 17th and aired the following week. Thanks to Alan Breslauer, the video is now finally available below here at The BRAD BLOG.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3865
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rumpel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 05:06 PM
Response to Original message
26. CA: SOS race analysis via Kathy Dopp "Falling vote totals for SoS"
Edited on Fri Dec-01-06 05:10 PM by rumpel
I am passing on the following information that was gleaned by Jerry
Berkman in the East Bay.

What stands out is every SoS candidate lost votes over the last three
days. If compared with the reports during the rest of the month the
totals went up each day as absentee, provisional, etc. ballots were
counted. Suddenly there is this reduction in both the statewide number
of ballots cast (120,374), and you lost the largest number of votes
(63,421).

Also interesting is the percentage of reduction for the different
parties in the SoS race:
Democratic: <1.63%>
Republican: <0.50%>
American Ind: <.53%>
Green: <2.04%>
Libertarian: <0.70%>
Peace & Freed: <0.90%>

Statistically the Democratic and Green parties stand out, especially
given the large sample size. I am not sure how these figures are
reflected in local jurisdictions in their dispersal.
That also might make for interesting research.

Jody Holder

Mon Nov 20 19:29: Statewide 8,223,869 51.9%

Debra Bowen (Dem) 3,748,842 48.4 %
Bruce McPherson (Rep) 3,481,618 44.9 %
Glenn McMillon, Jr. (AI) 124,502 1.6 %
Forrest Hill (Grn) 164,745 2.1 %
Gail Lightfoot (Lib) 157,263 2.0 %
Margie Akin (PF) 82,492 1.0 %

Bowen lead: 267,224

Mon Nov 27 16:16: Statewide 8,557,137 54.0%
Debra Bowen (Dem) 3,888,784 48.3 %
Bruce McPherson (Rep) 3,623,118 45.0 %
Glenn McMillon, Jr. (AI) 130,421 1.6 %
Forrest Hill (Grn) 172,753 2.1 %
Gail Lightfoot (Lib) 164,525 2.0 %
Margie Akin (PF) 87,184 1.0 %

Bowen lead: 265,666
================================================
Thu Nov 30 8:00: Statewide 8,463,763 53.4%
(as of Nov 29, 4:54 pm)
Debra Bowen (Dem) 3,825,363 48.0 %
Bruce McPherson (Rep) 3,605,151 45.2 %
Glenn McMillon, Jr. (AI) 129,720 1.6 %
Forrest Hill (Grn) 169,220 2.2 %
Gail Lightfoot (Lib) 163,369 2.0 %
Margie Akin (PF) 86,482 1.0 %

Bowen lead: 220,212
via Kathy Dopp

:shrug:

I'm telling you in 2004 registered voters as reported by McCormack on last day of registration to SOS and certified results differed by minus 70,000 in LA County -
What is this? Purging after the elections?
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Patsy Stone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 06:55 PM
Response to Original message
27. I'm number 5!
But I think there should be WAAAAAY more recs than that. Get with it, people!
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WillYourVoteBCounted Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 07:18 PM
Response to Original message
28. 6200 seems to aim at simple or basic
Alot of voters worry the most about the presidential election,
although I believe that who is in congress is important too.


I wonder if 6200 should include any sort of audit
and transparency requirements, so that there isn't an
abuse of the paper as was done in Mexico?

One optical scan ballot box can hold about 2,500 to 3,000
ballots.

Likely on regular election day it won't hold nearly that much.

At early voting thats another thing.

But, once scanned, seems like later the ballots could
be sorted based on which presidential candidate is marked,
and hand counted very easily.

I mean, thats not alot of paper!

Have a different set of poll workers or volunteers to come in
at the end of the day.

But poll workers are short in supply.

It could probably be done in under 1 hour.
Counted and all audit/checklists completed.
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