Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Friday, 5/2/2008

Sen. Feingold introduces bill to allow election day registration for voters

From the office of Sen. Russ Feingold:

U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) are introducing legislation to help more Americans register to vote by allowing Election Day registration at polling places for all federal elections. The Election Day Registration Act addresses chronic problems with the American electoral process – low voter turnout and archaic voter registration laws. Election Day registration is also seen as preferable to advance registration since voters are actually present when they register, reducing opportunities for fraud. The bill’s introduction comes days after the Supreme Court upheld an Indiana voter ID law that seriously impedes the ability of elderly and low-income Americans to vote.

Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Jon Tester (D-MT), who represent states that recently enacted Election Day registration, are also cosponsors of the bill.

“The right to vote is at the heart of our democracy, and we should constantly be looking for ways to make it easier for Americans to exercise that right,” Feingold said. “Election Day registration has worked well in Wisconsin for more than 30 years and is a major reason why Wisconsin is a national leader in voter turnout. By allowing people to register in person on Election Day, we can bring more people into the process, which only strengthens our democracy.”

“For over 33 years, Minnesota’s same day registration law has helped produce the highest voter turnout of any state,” said Klobuchar. “Same day registration works, it encourages people to be engaged and interested in the issues facing our country – this bill gives a voice to every American who wants to vote.”

http://wkow.madison.com/News/index.php?ID=21132

VA to help more veterans with voting

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 2, 2008 13:04:00 EDT

A revised voting assistance policy for patients at veterans’ hospitals and nursing homes has satisfied two senators who have been pressing the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide more help.

The April 25 policy for VA’s Veterans Health Administration requires the agency to help patients unable to leave a facility in registering to vote and voting by absentee ballot.

Patients and residents who are able to leave must receive authorized absences to go vote.

VA will use volunteers rather than paid workers to provide the voting assistance.

http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2008/05/military_veterans_votingregistration_050108w/

Cuyahoga vote board hires lab to examine scrapped vote machines

Posted by Joe Guillen May 01, 2008 18:22PM

Cuyahoga County hired a nationally-renowned lab on Thursday to prepare for a possible lawsuit against the maker of the $21 million touch-screen voting system scrapped in December.

The county -- currently shopping for voting equipment for the November presidential election -- wants to recoup its $7 million investment in the old system, which is only two years old. The rest of the purchase price was supplied by the federal government.

To prove the machines made by Diebold, Inc. were defective, the county has brought in SysTest Labs, of Denver, to study the touch-screen machines and vote-counting computer software.

SysTest is one of four labs accredited by the federal government to test voting systems for certification. The company has worked for a variety of governments and machine makers, including Diebold.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/05/cuyahoga_vote_board_hires_lab.html

No voting-machine problems found during recount

Friday, May 2, 2008 2:55 AM

Outside auditors found no electronic-voting glitches in a state-requested recount of March 4 primary ballots, Franklin County elections officials said yesterday.

"That no discrepancies were found shows we're ready for November's general election," Franklin County Board of Elections Director Dennis L. White said in a written statement.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a skeptic of electronic-voting machines, asked Franklin and 10 other counties that use them to recount at least 7 percent of their ballots by hand to check the machines' accuracy.

Researchers from Cleveland State University, New York University and San Francisco's Verified Voting Foundation did the work for Franklin County, reviewing about 10 percent of March 4 votes.

Eight votes cast electronically were unreadable during a count of voting-machine paper tapes, but elections officials said they were recorded accurately elsewhere within the machines. Voters cast 331,046 ballots in the primary.

Brunner spokesman Jeff Ortega said the secretary of state has yet to review Franklin County's findings.

-- Robert Vitale

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/02/elxaudit.ART_ART_05-02-08_B3_9JA3ETT.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101

Democrats hear Secretary of State talk about vote count accuracy

By James Vowell
Editor, Record Gazette
Debra Bowen

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen spoke at the Pass Democratic Club's Fourth Annual Unity Dinner Saturday night at Morongo Casino in Cabazon.

She mostly focused on her work toware guaranteeing the accuracy of California's election results.

“This is work that I love,” she said. “My goal is to give people the ability to create their own futures.”

Over the last few years, the use of computers and scanners have lead to problems in counting votes accurately. She pointed out that there is a lot of basic work to do with computers. “But we've taken that issue off the counter here in California.”

http://www.recordgazette.net/articles/2008/05/02/news/08news.txt

Stricter voter ID rules get OK in house

BY GARY FINEOUT
The state House voted unanimously Wednesday to tighten what kind of photo IDs can be used at the polls, coming just two days after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a much stricter photo ID law in Indiana.

If the measure becomes law, voters could not use an employee badge or a buyer's club card. Other types of photo IDs like driver's licenses and U.S. passports would still be allowed.

The election bill, however, does not include a top priority of Secretary of State Kurt Browning: Changing the state's manual recount law to ensure that all ballots would be hand-counted if there is another close election.

Browning agreed to stop pushing for the change after election supervisors from large urban counties, including Miami-Dade, said there was no way they could do a hand count of all ballots under the current deadlines in Florida law.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/v-print/story/516449.html

Illinois Senate rejects recall amendment

By Mike Riopell
mike.riopell@lee.net

SPRINGFIELD -- A fiercely debated proposal to let voters recall elected officials won’t be on November’s ballot after the Illinois Senate effectively killed it Thursday.

Republicans in the Senate led Thursday’s efforts to change the state constitution to let voters oust officials ranging from the governor to local mayors and judges.

But too few Democrats voted “yes,” and the proposal came up three votes short on a 33-19 vote.

Controversy surrounding Gov. Rod Blagojevich often is cited as the reason surrounding recent pushes for the recall concept. But during debate, Republicans argued it was a general policy matter and an option voters should have.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/05/02/news/doc481a102e35829895270551.txt

Marion Co. voters confused about where to vote

Posted: May 1, 2008 06:05 PM

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - I-Team 8 has learned that just 5-days out, there are hundreds if not thousands of Marion County voters confused about where they're supposed to vote.

That's why some Democrats and Republicans are working together to get voters to the right polling places on Tuesday.

In the area known as Chapel Hill on the city's west side, voters who received cards before the special election telling them where to vote are learning those cards are outdated.

Dennis Poteet is a Democratic precinct committeeman.

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8258311&nav=menu35_2

Ballot SNAFU May trip-up thousands of newly registered Democrats (Updated with additional Sec of State comment)

May 1st 2008 4:28pm

One of the big stories this political season is the unusually large number of Oregon voters who changed their registration to participate in the hotly contested May 20 Democratic primary between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama—including several thousand in Multnomah County.

But now Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, the state's top elections official, says that making sure those new voters' ballots get counted will be a challenge.

Many of those who switched from other parties or from non-affiliated status to join the Democrats did so after county elections officials had already sent their voter lists to the printer. So those late-switchers may get a ballot reflecting their original registration and, later, a second ballot reflecting their new status as registered Dems. Only one ballot per person will be counted.

But here's the kicker: because recent changers will get their invalid ballots first, they may send them without realizing their Democratic ballots are on the way.

http://wweek.com/wwire/?p=11778

Record voter turnout expected

By Mike Hixenbaugh
Rocky Mount Telegram

Friday, May 02, 2008

As the race for the Democratic presidential nomination grows even more competitive in North Carolina, election officials continue to warn that high turnouts might force voters to wait in line on Tuesday.

Hillary Clinton has closed the lead held by Barack Obama in North Carolina. The Democratic gubernatorial race between Richard Moore and Bev Perdue has intensified, and the Republican race for governor also could come down to the wire.

That's in addition to county sales tax referendums and scores of other state and county races.

"There could be some lines on May 6, but we're hoping to avoid that with early voting," Nash County Board of Elections Director Whitney Davis said. "We want as many people to vote early as possible."

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/05/02/earlyVOTE.html

Posted on May 1, 2008 12:57 AM

Citizens voice concern about voting system

By Katharine Lackey Email
Collegian Staff Writer

More than a week after Pennsylvania's primary, nearly 40 Centre County residents participated in a forum last night to discuss the county's electronic touch-screen voting systems, which have been controversial since their implementation.

Jon Eich, Centre County commissioner, said the public forum was a rare opportunity for citizen's to have their voices heard, adding that the county doesn't hold forums very often.

As he opened up the floor to several five-minute testimonies by citizens, Eich acknowledged disagreements over the effectiveness of the touch-screen voting systems the county currently uses.

Joyce McKinley, director of elections, gave an overview of the security features of the current systems, which include passwords and qualification codes as well as the units' being secured and sealed prior to an election.

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/05/01/citizens_voice_concern_about_v.aspx

More voter fraud in Wise County?

Friday, May 02, 2008 - 10:53 AM

ST. PAUL -- Four people face felony charges of voter fraud in connection with a southwest Virginia municipal election on Tuesday.

Wise County Commonwealth's Attorney Ronald Elkins said yesterday that three people who do not live in St. Paul registered to vote in the town election, using the address of a resident. The town's mayor and two council members are up for re-election in a hotly contested race.

The investigation was turned over to state police after a candidate notified police of a possible irregularity. Elkins said he will release the results of a special grand jury investigation after the election.

The former mayor of Appalachia, another Wise County town, is serving a two-year sentence for masterminding a vote-rigging scheme in 2004. Charges also were brought against 13 others in the conspiracy.

-- The Associated Press

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-05-02-0232.html

House passes teen voting bill

Associated Press

HARTFORD -- An effort to allow some 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections is gaining momentum at the state Capitol.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a resolution, 135-12, in support of putting the question before voters. A ballot question would ask whether the state should amend its constitution to allow any 17-year-old who would turn 18 before the next general election to vote in a primary.

The resolution awaits action in the Senate.

Proponents estimate the change could affect up to 10,000 teens. They hope to increase voter turnout and get more young people excited about the election process.

http://thehour.com/story/68091

Constitutional amendment allowing 17 year-olds to vote going on the ballot

By Connecticut Secretary of the State's Office

Hartford, CT - Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz applauded State Senate lawmakers for giving final, unanimous passage to HJ-21, a resolution that would allow thousands of 17 year-olds to vote in a primary election, so long as they turn 18 before the general election.

The Senate’s 36-0 vote, coupled with overwhelming House approval April 22nd means the measure will go to voters all over Connecticut in November of 2008 as a Constitutional question on the ballot.

“Legislative approval of this resolution is a victory for Democracy,” said Bysiewicz, “This measure will now open up the selection of our president to 10,000 new voters who are eager to become active participants in our political process.”

Bysiewicz added, “The 2008 presidential campaign, especially on the Democratic side, shows more than ever that every vote does count. In this time of economic insecurity, war, and environmental peril, young people clearly want a say in the direction of this country; allowing them a head-start in becoming involved in civic life just makes sense and will go a long way in creating life-long voters.”

http://www.norwalkplus.com/nwk/information/nwsnwk/publish/News_1/Constitutional_amendment_allowing_17_year-olds_to_vote_going_on_the_ballot1263.shtml

Bill would allow more student poll workers on election days

May 1, 2008

by Marc Kovac

Capital Bureau Chief

Columbus -- The Ohio House overwhelmingly approved legislation this month that would allow more teens and college students to work the polls on election days.

The final vote on House Bill 350 was 94-0, and the legislation heads to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.

Rep. Larry Wolpert, R-Hilliard, was primary sponsor of a similar bill that passed through the last General Assembly, allowing one high school senior age 17 or older to serve as a poll-worker per election.

HB 350, also sponsored by Wolpert, would increase the number to two in precincts with six or more poll-workers and allow college students who are registered to vote in Ohio to work in precincts where they attend school.

http://www.bedfordtimesregister.com/news/article/3714212

Zimbabwe opposition questions election results showing need for run-off

The Associated Press
Published: May 2, 2008

HARARE, Zimbabwe: Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won 47.9 percent of the vote in Zimbabwe's presidential elections, elections officials said Friday — more than longtime President Robert Mugabe but not enough to avoid a runoff.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change rejected the results and proposed forming a national unity government to include Mugabe's party, but not Mugabe.

But Mugabe accepts the outcome and will run in the second round of balloting, said Emmerson Mnangagwa, a top aide to Mugabe's ruling party.

The Electoral Commission on Friday released the long-delayed results from Zimbabwe's March 29 presidential vote, saying Mugabe won 43.2 percent of votes and that another round of voting was required.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/02/news/Zimbabwe.php

Zimbabwe to Hold Run-Off Election

By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 2, 2008; 1:06 PM

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai defeated President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe's March 29 presidential election but failed to win a majority of the vote, requiring a run-off election on a date to be determined, the Zimbabwe Electoral commission announced today.

Tsvangirai, leader of the largest faction of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, won 47.9 percent of the vote, and Mugabe took 43.2 percent, Chief Elections Officer Lovemore Sekeramayi said.

"No candidate has received a majority of votes counted," the commission said in a statement. "A second election will be held at a date to be announced." Under Zimbabwean law, a run-off should be held within 21 days of the announcement of the results.

Opposition officials immediately denounced the electoral commission's tally, charging that Tsvangirai had been robbed of victory. The 56-year-old opposition leader has been traveling outside Zimbabwe in recent weeks, saying he fears for his life if he returns to his country. He has maintained that he won the presidency outright on March 29 with 50.3 percent of the vote.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050200321.html

4 firms show poll automation wares at Senate

By Kathleen Martin
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:59:00 05/02/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- Four companies demonstrated their automated voting systems for the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) polls before the Joint Oversight Committee on the Automated Elections at the Senate on Friday.

The Mega Data Corporation and Smartmatic Sahi joint venture presented their systems that use direct recording electronic (DRE) technology while Chatsworth ABS joint venture and Avante Technology Incorporated presented theirs using optical mark-reader (OMR) technology.

Alfred Padlan, business development manager of Mega Data Corp., presented Botong Pinoy, the company's voting system. Padlan said that the software would be donated to the government.

Meanwhile, Cesar Flores, sales director of International Sales of Smartmatic, demonstrated their machines for the voting system, along with their transmission and canvassing systems. Flores said that these machines could even be used in areas without electricity, as these came with batteries and inverters that could last for 16 hours.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080502-134163/4-firms-show-poll-automation-wares-at-Senate

Automated polls’ coverage expanded

By Fel V. Maragay

The Commission on Elections yesterday agreed to include Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in the coverage of the automated elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on Aug. 11.

Four information technology companies—three foreign and one Filipino—demonstrated how their machines work before members of the Joint Oversight Committee on Automated Election System. Their wares include automated voting—counting machines and electronic transmission systems.

Earlier, the poll body had planned to limit the automated voting and counting to Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Shariff Kabunsuan. But Senator Richard Gordon, co-chairman of the oversight committee, was able to convince Chairman Jose Melo and other Comelec officials to automate the polls in all six ARMM provinces. For this purpose, a P870-million budget has been allotted.

Gordon brought to the attention of the oversight committee and the Comelec the complaint of Rep. Nur Japaar that Tawi-Tawi is being left out in the poll automation project.

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics1_may3_2008

Ignore the Youth Vote at Your Own Peril

By Matisse Bustos Hawkes, AlterNet. Posted May 2, 2008.

Mike Connery on why progressive leaders should stop lamenting 'youth apathy' and start engaging the most diverse, tolerant, generation in history.


Michael Connery has written a necessary and accessible primer on the status of the progressive youth vote in the U.S. Youth to Power is a slim volume that gives important historical context to the youth vote and an in-depth look at the current activity of young progressives aligning with the Democratic Party, turning on its head the long-held perception of youth in America as apathetic and disconnected from electoral politics.

Connery essentially issues a wake-up call to progressive leaders: ignore the youth vote now and in any election in the future at your own peril. With good reason -- the Millennial generation, defined in the political realm as those born between 1978 and 1996, includes 50 million eligible voters for this year's presidential election. And more and more of them are aligning with the Democratic Party on issues like health care, the war in Iraq, foreign policy and environmental standards.

Connery, a respected progressive blogger, maintains the blog Future Majority and is a contributor to MyDD, DailyKos and the Huffington Post's "Off the Bus" project. As a veteran of the 2004 presidential cycle -- Connery co-founded a get-out-the-vote organization called Music For America -- he is well positioned to share observations and suggestions to those in power and simultaneously share experience and inspiration with youth voters and young leaders during this historic presidential election cycle.

He addresses Gen X and Baby Boomer leaders as well as Millenials throughout the book, in chapters that cover the 2003-04 rise in political participation in the Howard Dean campaign ("Deaniacs") through what he terms the "dot org boom" -- when an array of organizations were established by a few key progressive funders after the Democrats lost the presidential bid in 2004. He also spends time explaining how funding for progressive youth leadership training pales in comparison to the "conservative youth factory" established by the right wing. Connery also discusses methods of engaging youth through social justice activism -- a strategy deftly employed by communities of color. And he illuminates how new communication technologies, and the advent of Web 2.0 specifically, has helped shape new opportunities for unprecedented levels of participation by youth in electoral politics.

http://www.alternet.org/election08/84034/