Election Reform, Fraud and Related News. Sunday 5/11/08

[EFerrari]

Secretary of State to accept courage award
12 hours ago

Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part question-and-answer package with Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
By MARC KOVAC
Dix Capital Bureau

COLUMBUS - What do John McCain, Gerald Ford, the Peacemakers of Northern Ireland and Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner have in common?

Come Monday, the latter will join the three former as recipients of John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage awards, which recognize elected public servants for "conscientious and courageous acts ... and to encourage elected officials to choose principles over partisanship - to do what is right, rather than what is expedient."

The awards will be presented at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston to Brunner, California Secretary of State Debra Browen and former Mississippi Gov. William Winter.

Brunner is being recognized for spearheading a study of the state's new electronic voting systems and her subsequent efforts to ensure Ohio's elections and citizens' voting rights were secure.

http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/3774482



1. Post stories and announcements you find on the web. Here's the link to the News Directory:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407240

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

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


Recommendations are much appreciated. :hi:

[EFerrari]

1. The Nation.

[EFerrari]

5. Confusing ballot designs still plague elections

Confusing ballot designs still plague elections

By DEBORAH HASTINGS | AP National Writer
12:55 PM EDT, May 11, 2008

The solution should have been a no-brainer, voting experts say. After all, it was a badly designed ballot that enflamed the 2000 election meltdown and introduced the vagaries of chads to the political lexicon -- pregnant, hanging and otherwise.

So it would seem that redesigning ballots to make them simpler should have been a high priority. But that hasn't been the case, voting experts say.

Eight years after the fiasco in Florida's Palm Beach County, confusing ballots continue to stymie voters and plague elections in this primary season.

"The sad fact is, we still have not systematically addressed the need for good ballot design standards," said Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's law school. "We've spent billions of dollars on overhauling election administration in this country, but we're still seeing the same ballot design mistakes in almost every federal election."

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap_us19may11,0,3615004.story?track=rss

[EFerrari]

11. Obama volunteers register new voters in Birmingham

Obama volunteers register new voters in Birmingham
Sunday, May 11, 2008
ROY L. WILLIAMS
News staff writer

Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama kicked off a voter registration drive in Birmingham on Saturday, joining volunteers holding similar events in 100 other cities nationally.

Two dozen Obama'08 volunteers visited store parking lots and neighborhoods across metro Birmingham, passing out voter registration forms. It was part of a Vote for Change mobilization drive in all 50 states.

The Obama volunteers registered 92 voters as of late Saturday afternoon, said volunteer Melissa Thomas. She said the registration drive will continue until the deadline before the Nov. 4 presidential election.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1210493713213920.xml&coll=2

[EFerrari]

13. Pastors urged to violate ban on partisan politics

Pastors urged to violate ban on partisan politics
By Rachel Zoll
Associated Press
Published: Sunday, May 11, 2008 12:46 a.m. MDT

NEW YORK — Conservative legal advocates are recruiting pastors nationwide to defy an IRS ban on preaching about politicians, in a challenge they hope will abolish the restriction.

The Alliance Defense Fund, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., will ask the clergy to deliver a sermon about specific candidates Sept. 28. If the action triggers an IRS investigation, the legal group will sue to overturn the federal rules, which were enacted in 1954.

Under the IRS code, churches can distribute voter guides, run voter registration drives, hold forums on public policy and invite politicians to speak at their congregations.

However, they cannot endorse a candidate, and their political activity cannot be biased for or against a candidate, directly or indirectly.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,5143,700224756,00.html

[EFerrari]

16. Frustration with special counsel detailed (Siegelman)

Frustration with special counsel detailed
By Christopher Lee - The Washington Post
May 11, 2008


Washington — Last September, career investigators at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel opened a probe into whether partisan politics were a factor in the Justice Department’s prosecution of former Democratic Alabama governor Don Siegelman on corruption charges in 2006.

Siegelman, who narrowly lost his reelection bid in 2002 and intended to run again in 2006, has insistently alleged that Karl Rove, then a White House adviser, targeted him for prosecution to ensure he did not oust a Republican governor.

But on Oct. 11, OSC chief Scott Bloch ordered the case file closed immediately, saying that he had not authorized it, seven career employees wrote in an internal draft memo made public last week.

“After concerns are expressed that OSC simply cannot close a file without conducting an investigation into theses (sic) allegations, the TF (task force) is directed to not further investigate this case and to wait for further instructions from the Special Counsel,” the employees wrote in the document dated Jan. 18.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/may/11/frustration_special_counsel_detailed/

[EFerrari]

17. New voters are registering in record numbers

New voters are registering in record numbers
The Associated Press


DURHAM, N.C. | Voter excitement, always up before a presidential election, is pushing registration through the roof this year.

According to an Associated Press survey that offers the first national snapshot of the trend, more than 3.5 million people have rushed to join the historic balloting.

Figures are up for blacks, women and young people. Rural and city. South and North.

Overall, the AP found that nearly one in 65 American adults signed up to vote in just the first three months of the year. And in the 21 states that were able to provide comparable data, new registrations have soared about 64 percent from the same three months in the 2004 campaign.

http://www.kansascity.com/811/story/614597.html

[EFerrari]

2. By State.

[EFerrari]

8. IN: County clerk seeks election help

County clerk seeks election help

BY BOB KASARDA
[e-mail]
219.548.4345 | Sunday, May 11, 2008 | 3 comment(s)

VALPARAISO | In the wake of last week's hectic primary election, Porter County Clerk Pam Fish said Saturday it is time to look into creating a division devoted exclusively to handling the county's voting needs.

"I don't have the time to do this job like it should be done," Fish said.

Election divisions already exist in neighboring Lake County and Tippecanoe County, which is comparable to Porter County, she said.

Such a move, however, would require the backing of the county commissioners and council, who would have to find the money necessary to fund the effort, Fish said.

http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2008/05/11//news/porter_county/doc25c2997a75a3620d86257446000bc1a2.txt

[EFerrari]

10. WY: Wyo works to avoid absentee ballot fraud

By JOAN BARRON
Star-Tribune capital bureau

Sunday, May 11, 2008 2:06 AM MDT

CHEYENNE -- Wyoming county election officials appear to be well ahead of other states in how they prevent fraud with absentee ballots in nursing homes.

According to an article in Stateline.org, a new "mobile voting" program is being tested in Vermont to ensure elderly residents in nursing facilities get an opportunity to vote without risking voter fraud or abuse.

Helping seniors vote without the risk of fraud is important, because they are avid voters. In the last presidential election, at least 79 percent of people 65 and older cast ballots, compared to an overall voter turnout of 52 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Absentee ballots historically have been the biggest source of voter fraud, the article said, quoting Kim Brace of the political consulting firm Election Data Services. State and federal investigators have found numerous cases when nursing home employees have stuffed the ballot box by filling out ballots for the residents, he said.

http://casperstartribune.net/articles/2008/05/11/news/wyoming/6bfc800d602d5b30872574450021298a.txt

[EFerrari]

12. IN: Indiana’s primary turnout high, despite photo ID law

Indiana’s primary turnout high, despite photo ID law

The Associated Press

Sun, May 11, 2008 (12:22 a.m.)

Indiana's controversial photo identification rule may not have made a major dent in the state's high turnout, but it did frustrate a small group of voters more accustomed to divine law.

About 12 elderly Roman Catholic nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.

Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow members of Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, even though they had been told earlier that they would need to get such an ID to vote.

"One came down this morning, and she was 98, and she said, `I don't want to go do that,'" McGuire said. Some showed up with outdated passports. None of them drive.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/11/indianas-primary-turnout-high-despite-photo-id-law/

[EFerrari]

15. CT: Presidential contest swells state’s voter rolls

Presidential contest swells state’s voter rolls
By Keith M. Phaneuf
Journal Inquirer
Published: Saturday, May 10, 2008 2:06 PM EDT

HARTFORD — Connecticut residents have continued to register to vote in big numbers since the Feb. 5 presidential primaries, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said Friday.

Nearly 34,000 residents have registered, with Democrats outgaining Republicans by more than 3-to-1, and the largest single age group behind the surge is people ages 18 to 29, according to registration numbers filed through May 5.

“With young people leading the way, Connecticut residents are registering in impressive numbers,” Bysiewicz, the state’s chief elections official, said. “There is an incredible renewed sense of enthusiasm and interest in the political process. The surge in voter registration we experienced before the Feb. 5 primary has continued through April and into May.”

Among the newly registered voters, about 14,000 are Democrats, 4,500 are Republicans, and 15,000 are unaffiliated.

http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2008/05/11/connecticut/doc4824c1c7c73df656994438.txt

[EFerrari]

18. WV: Voter Registration Mailer Too Late For Deadline

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Secretary of State Betty Ireland says a mailing that encourages unmarried women to register to vote is well-intended but the registration deadline for Tuesday's primary has passed.

The group Women's Voices, Women Vote says the mailing was part of a national effort aimed at getting women to register to vote.

The mailing went to more than 16,000 unmarried women in West Virginia.

Ireland says the deadline for registering to vote in the primary was April 22.

But people who register after that date can vote in the November general election.

http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/18831369.html

[EFerrari]

3. International.

[EFerrari]

6. New Zealand: E-voting pilots for 2014-20

E-voting pilots for 2014-20
By TOM PULLAR-STRECKER - The Dominion Post | Monday, 12 May 2008

Most New Zealanders are unlikely to be able to vote online in general elections till at least 2023, under a proposal being considered by Justice Minister Annette King.

The draft longterm strategy for e-voting, put forward by the Chief Electoral Office, favours trials of phone and Internet voting in three elections starting in 2014, before a decision is made on whether tooffer that as an option to all voters.

Under its proposal, 2000 blind and disabled voters would be invited to vote by Internet and phone in the 2014 election.

Up to 5000 people who qualify for special and advanced voting, such as New Zealanders living overseas, would join the trial in 2017, and the number of blind, disabled and advanced and special voters able to vote online would increase at each election.

The Chief Electoral Office says it might be possible to bring the trials forward, to start in 2011, but this would put the delivery of "high quality election services this year at risk".

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4521799a28.html

[EFerrari]

7. Philippines: Mitra questions faulty e-voting system

Monday, May 12, 2008
Mitra questions faulty e-voting system

THE head of House special committee on reforms wants former Speaker Jose de Venecia to explain why the P15-million worth electronic voting system installed during his term is not working.

"They should explain why until now, the apparatus is still not functioning," Palawan Representative Kahlil Abraham Mitra said.

Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo

House Speaker Prospero Nograles raised the possibility of scrapping the P15-million worth biometric electronic voting system project.

"We will junk it if its does not work. How can we use something that does not function?" he said.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/man/2008/05/12/news/mitra.questions.faulty.e.voting.system.html

[EFerrari]

19. Intimidation in Myanmar vote

Intimidation in Myanmar vote
10/05/2008 21:00 - (SA)


Hlegu, Myanmar - A proposed military-backed constitution in Myanmar appears to have won overwhelming approval in a referendum on Saturday in which there was visible intimidation of voters, witnesses said.

Witnesses and local officials who watched the local counting of ballots said the vote appeared to average 80% to 90% in favour of the draft charter. The ruling junta's critics consider the proposed constitution unfair and undemocratic.

Final official results of the referendum will not be announced until after late voting on May 24 in areas badly hit by recent Cyclone Nargis.

Witnesses said they saw cases of intimidation of voters at various polling stations around the country.

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2320103,00.html

[EFerrari]

4. OpEd.

[EFerrari]

9. Less costly means of voting (Japan)

EDITORIAL
Less costly means of voting

Electronic voting is likely to be partially used in the next general elections. A recent agreement between the ruling camp and the Democratic Party of Japan on a revision of a related bill has assured its enactment in the current Diet session.

But problems such as the cost and reliability of the voting method must be addressed. In electronic voting, a voter chooses a candidate by touching the screen of a computer terminal. In 2002, a special law went into force, letting municipalities use such voting in local elections if they have enacted related bylaws. So far, the method has been used in 17 elections in only 10 municipalities equipped with such bylaws.

During last year's ordinary Diet session, lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito submitted a bill to revise the special law to allow municipalities that have the related bylaws to use electronic voting in Diet elections as well. Although the bill passed the Lower House in December 2007, the DPJ in the Upper House demanded use of electronic voting machines that print out the names of candidates chosen by voters for verification by voters and election management commissions.

The ruling camp and the DPJ have reached an agreement that requires consideration of the use of such machines within four years. The DPJ's demand is reasonable in view of the possibility of a breakdown in the voting system and illegal access to and alteration of the content stored in the system's memory.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/ed20080511a2.html

[EFerrari]

14. Bowen: Poll workers on front lines of democracy

Op-Ed: Poll workers on front lines of democracy

May 10, 2008 11:36:00 PM
By Debra Bowen/California Secretary of State

Each election, Californians see snapshots of what makes our democracy tick. Candidates. Initiative measures. Campaign commercials. Voter registration drives. Ballots and the machines that count them.

One crucial element that's often overlooked is the contribution from the state's largest one-day volunteer work force: the 100,000 men and women who serve on the front lines of democracy as poll workers.

Teenagers and senior citizens, professionals and retirees, people of all backgrounds come together to ensure all of the more than 23,000 polling places across California are staffed on Election Day.Poll workers make voting easier and they protect our ballots until they are delivered to county election officials.

For their valuable service, poll workers take home modest stipends. But they walk away with so much more — a sense of community, a chance to reconnect with neighbors and friends, first-hand experience with democracy, and personal satisfaction.

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/poll_63777___article.html/workers_democracy.html

[EFerrari]

20. David Sirota: Recognizing the Race Chasm

David Sirota
Recognizing the Race Chasm

Posted May 11, 2008 | 03:50 PM (EST)

The issue of race makes a lot of folks uncomfortable -- and that's especially true right now when the nation is closer than ever to electing the first black President of the United States. As my new newspaper column this week shows, many serious people who dominate our political debate have reacted to this historic election and their own queasiness about race by exposing their prejudices.

On one side, you have the ostriches -- the political "thinkers" like Reihan Salam and Michael Lind who look at the Race Chasm and pretend it doesn't exist. These people look at a racially polarized election map, and explain it away with either flippant fact-free stories about Hillary Clinton's "waitress-mom
sensibility," or wild theories about Northern European migration trends from a century ago. They expect us to forget that most often the simplest explanation is the most obvious -- especially when it comes to a black-white racial divide that has been a defining characteristic of American culture since our country's inception.

On the other side you have the minstrel show producers -- the media and politicians who are more than thrilled to exploit race and treat African-Americans as less than human. My column offers up all sorts of specific examples of this, but I think Keith Woods of the Poynter Institute summed it up best. Appearing on PBS this week, he said:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/recognizing-the-race-chas_b_101212.html

[EFerrari]

21. Help Us Bring Clean Elections to Illinois

(Please digg at the link if you have a moment!)

May 11, 2008

Help Us Bring Clean Elections to Illinois
By Lora Chamberlain

Hello to all residents of Illinois,

I know it is ridiculous to use Clean Elections and Illinois Politics in the same sentence but that is exactly what we at the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project are trying to change here in this state. We have kicked off a campaign to get 3 referendums on the ballot in Nov. here in Illinois;

1) Paper Ballots for everyone in the state, right now it is a hodge podge of electronic machines and other voting devices, some which have been designed with built in mechanisms to change your vote.

After we have Paper Ballots for everyone then we will move to work towards significant audits, hand counted the night of the election before the vote tallies are reported as further safeguard of your precious right to vote and your right to get it counted correctly!

2) Clean Elections or publicly financed elections for those candidates who voluntarily opt into the system. Right now is Illinois it is the Wild West of politics with Pay to Play as the major means that politicians have of getting the large donors needed for their expensive campaigns. We must disconnect the money from our politicians or they will never truly represent us, they will always be beholden to the big monied interests and we the taxpayers and voters of Illinois will always lose!

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_lora_cha_080511_help_us_bring_clean_.htm

[Peace Patriot]

22. TYPO IN THE OP: California Sec of State's name is Debra Bowen (not Browen). nt

[EFerrari]

24. Ack! Thank you, Peace Patriot.

I'm probably too dyslexic to put up these threads. lol. :hi:

[Peace Patriot]

23. THANKS FOR ALL THE NEWS, SFEXPAT2000--on this all-important topic of our election system.

It is greatly appreciated!

[bleever]

25. K&R, with gratitude,

as always.

:patriot:

[Mnemosyne]

26. Needs more R and

:kick:

Thanks Beth! :hi: