Alaska judge orders ballots reprinted
Matt Volz - Sept 30,2004
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A Superior Court judge on Wednesday ordered the state to rewrite, reprint and redistribute all its ballots for the Nov. 2 election, saying the wording of a ballot initiative was inaccurate and biased.
Elections officials said that they could comply with the order, but that it would take 15 days and cost nearly $300,000 to replace 517,000 ballots. They also would have to send replacements for about 4,500 ballots that have already been mailed to people overseas and in the most remote parts of Alaska.
Read More >>
30 September 2004
MAKING VOTES COUNT
Playing With the Election Rules
September 30, 2004
One of the lessons of the election mess in Florida in 2000 was that a secretary of state can deprive a large number of people of the right to vote by small manipulations of the rules. This year in Ohio and Colorado, two key battlegrounds, the secretaries of state have been interpreting the rules in ways that could prevent thousands of eligible Americans from voting. In both states, the courts should step in.
Just weeks before the deadline to register, Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio's secretary of state, instructed the state's county boards of election to reject registrations on paper of less than 80-pound stock - the sort used for paperback-book covers and postcards, compared with the 20-to-24-pound stock in everyday use. He said he was concerned about forms' being mailed without envelopes and mangled by postal equipment. But the directive applied to all registration forms, even those sent in an envelope or delivered by hand. Mr. Blackwell, a Republican, acted in the midst of an unprecedented state voter registration drive, which is signing up far more Democrats than Republicans.
[...] Mr. Blackwell's second directive tells local elections officials to follow a bad policy Ohio adopted on provisional ballots. This is the first presidential election in which every voter whose eligibility is in doubt has the right to cast a ballot and to have the vote's validity verified later. But Ohio and some other states have tried to gut this guarantee by not counting provisional ballots cast in the wrong polling places. There is no reason to do that.
This rule could void many votes. There will be a flood of first-time voters this year, who may not know where to vote. And some polling places have been changed by redistricting. Mr. Blackwell says poll workers should help voters call an elections hot line to find out where to go. But these hot lines are often busy on Election Day. Poor people and members of minorities, who move more often than most voters, are likely to be most affected. Ohio Democrats, who expect to do well among these groups, are fighting the rule in court.
In Colorado, Secretary of State Donetta Davidson, also a Republican, has issued a bizarre ruling of her own on this issue. She will allow provisional ballots cast at the wrong polling places to count for only the presidential race. The Senate race in Colorado, among the closest in the nation, could determine control of the Senate, and there is no reason all valid provisional ballots should not count in this race or for statewide ballot propositions. Colorado Common Cause is challenging Ms. Davidson's rule, but she should not need a court to tell her to count the votes.
Democrats say these rulings are all attempts to disqualify thousands of Democratic votes. Whatever the motivation, they threaten to disenfranchise voters. They have no place in our democracy.
Link >>
Playing With the Election Rules
September 30, 2004
One of the lessons of the election mess in Florida in 2000 was that a secretary of state can deprive a large number of people of the right to vote by small manipulations of the rules. This year in Ohio and Colorado, two key battlegrounds, the secretaries of state have been interpreting the rules in ways that could prevent thousands of eligible Americans from voting. In both states, the courts should step in.
Just weeks before the deadline to register, Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio's secretary of state, instructed the state's county boards of election to reject registrations on paper of less than 80-pound stock - the sort used for paperback-book covers and postcards, compared with the 20-to-24-pound stock in everyday use. He said he was concerned about forms' being mailed without envelopes and mangled by postal equipment. But the directive applied to all registration forms, even those sent in an envelope or delivered by hand. Mr. Blackwell, a Republican, acted in the midst of an unprecedented state voter registration drive, which is signing up far more Democrats than Republicans.
[...] Mr. Blackwell's second directive tells local elections officials to follow a bad policy Ohio adopted on provisional ballots. This is the first presidential election in which every voter whose eligibility is in doubt has the right to cast a ballot and to have the vote's validity verified later. But Ohio and some other states have tried to gut this guarantee by not counting provisional ballots cast in the wrong polling places. There is no reason to do that.
This rule could void many votes. There will be a flood of first-time voters this year, who may not know where to vote. And some polling places have been changed by redistricting. Mr. Blackwell says poll workers should help voters call an elections hot line to find out where to go. But these hot lines are often busy on Election Day. Poor people and members of minorities, who move more often than most voters, are likely to be most affected. Ohio Democrats, who expect to do well among these groups, are fighting the rule in court.
In Colorado, Secretary of State Donetta Davidson, also a Republican, has issued a bizarre ruling of her own on this issue. She will allow provisional ballots cast at the wrong polling places to count for only the presidential race. The Senate race in Colorado, among the closest in the nation, could determine control of the Senate, and there is no reason all valid provisional ballots should not count in this race or for statewide ballot propositions. Colorado Common Cause is challenging Ms. Davidson's rule, but she should not need a court to tell her to count the votes.
Democrats say these rulings are all attempts to disqualify thousands of Democratic votes. Whatever the motivation, they threaten to disenfranchise voters. They have no place in our democracy.
Link >>
The KKK Rides again through GOP in US Voting Manipulation and Intimidation
Think that headline's an exaggeration?
"In the 2000 Florida elections, thousands of black voters were unlawfully denied the right to vote; Postcards were mailed to minority voters in Passaic County, NJ, threatening fines up to $1000 and imprisonment of up to five years...and warning of "armed law enforcement officers" at the polls; In Wharton County, TX, a white woman had her home vandalized, received phone threats, and was victim to a cross burning that lit her home on fire for her support of an African American candidate.
John Pappageorge, a GOP state Representative from Troy, MI was quoted in the Detroit Free Press on July 16, 2004 saying, "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election cycle." During a special election in South Dakota on June 1, 2004 many Native Americans were sent to the wrong polling places or given incorrect information about new laws." All these offenses were perpetrated in the interests of the GOP.
Read More >>
Think that headline's an exaggeration?
"In the 2000 Florida elections, thousands of black voters were unlawfully denied the right to vote; Postcards were mailed to minority voters in Passaic County, NJ, threatening fines up to $1000 and imprisonment of up to five years...and warning of "armed law enforcement officers" at the polls; In Wharton County, TX, a white woman had her home vandalized, received phone threats, and was victim to a cross burning that lit her home on fire for her support of an African American candidate.
John Pappageorge, a GOP state Representative from Troy, MI was quoted in the Detroit Free Press on July 16, 2004 saying, "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election cycle." During a special election in South Dakota on June 1, 2004 many Native Americans were sent to the wrong polling places or given incorrect information about new laws." All these offenses were perpetrated in the interests of the GOP.
Read More >>
Diebold Rep Now Runs Elections
Sept. 30, 2004
An influential employee of voting machine maker Diebold Election Systems left the company recently to take a job as elections manager for a California county.
Deborah Seiler, a sales representative for the beleaguered voting company, was hired a week ago and started Monday in Solano County, northeast of San Francisco in California's wine country. The position puts her second in command of elections in the county, under the registrar of voters.
The move raises eyebrows because Seiler played a role in a recent scandal involving Diebold and the county. As the Diebold sales rep, Seiler sold Solano County nearly 1,200 touch-screen machines that were not federally tested or state certified. When the state banned the machines because of Diebold's business practices, the county had to find a replacement for the machines and pay Diebold more than $400,000 to get out of its contract.
"This is outrageous. This is just a total runaround of the democratic process," said Douglas MacDonald, of the Community Labor Alliance, an activist group that pressured Solano County to end its contract with Diebold. "There was an open debate and discussion, and the county (supervisors) decided that Diebold is not the company, is not the philosophy, that we want behind the running of elections in Solano County. Then what happens? They go out and hire the person who was advocating that philosophy."
[...] California and other states have had a history of revolving doors between election offices and voting vendors. Voting companies hire election officials as sales representatives and consultants to take advantage of their connections and camaraderie with other election officials in order to gain advantage over competitors bidding for multimillion-dollar contracts. Some voters have voiced concerns about the conflicts of interest.
Seiler's move is a rare one, however -- an election official who left state employment to go work for a voting company, then came back to elections.
Before taking the job with Diebold, Seiler was California's chief of elections in the secretary of state's office for 12 years. She was heavily involved in election legislation, consulting with the state assembly committee on election legislation, and played a large role in crafting the state's election code, according to Rosenthal. In 1991, she quit her job in the secretary of state's office and went to work for the elections industry, working eight years for Sequoia Voting Systems, a competitor of Diebold, before moving to Diebold.
Read More >>
To read Wired News' complete coverage of e-voting, visit:
the Machine Politics section >>
Sept. 30, 2004
An influential employee of voting machine maker Diebold Election Systems left the company recently to take a job as elections manager for a California county.
Deborah Seiler, a sales representative for the beleaguered voting company, was hired a week ago and started Monday in Solano County, northeast of San Francisco in California's wine country. The position puts her second in command of elections in the county, under the registrar of voters.
The move raises eyebrows because Seiler played a role in a recent scandal involving Diebold and the county. As the Diebold sales rep, Seiler sold Solano County nearly 1,200 touch-screen machines that were not federally tested or state certified. When the state banned the machines because of Diebold's business practices, the county had to find a replacement for the machines and pay Diebold more than $400,000 to get out of its contract.
"This is outrageous. This is just a total runaround of the democratic process," said Douglas MacDonald, of the Community Labor Alliance, an activist group that pressured Solano County to end its contract with Diebold. "There was an open debate and discussion, and the county (supervisors) decided that Diebold is not the company, is not the philosophy, that we want behind the running of elections in Solano County. Then what happens? They go out and hire the person who was advocating that philosophy."
[...] California and other states have had a history of revolving doors between election offices and voting vendors. Voting companies hire election officials as sales representatives and consultants to take advantage of their connections and camaraderie with other election officials in order to gain advantage over competitors bidding for multimillion-dollar contracts. Some voters have voiced concerns about the conflicts of interest.
Seiler's move is a rare one, however -- an election official who left state employment to go work for a voting company, then came back to elections.
Before taking the job with Diebold, Seiler was California's chief of elections in the secretary of state's office for 12 years. She was heavily involved in election legislation, consulting with the state assembly committee on election legislation, and played a large role in crafting the state's election code, according to Rosenthal. In 1991, she quit her job in the secretary of state's office and went to work for the elections industry, working eight years for Sequoia Voting Systems, a competitor of Diebold, before moving to Diebold.
Read More >>
To read Wired News' complete coverage of e-voting, visit:
the Machine Politics section >>
29 September 2004
Critics Worry About 2000 Election Flashback in Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Provisional ballots could be the hanging chads of the 2004 presidential election, say critics of Ohio's guidelines for handling those votes.
Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell recently issued a directive to county election officials saying they are allowed to count provisional ballots only from voters who go to the correct polling location for their home address. Blackwell has ordered that if residents go to the wrong precinct, poll workers must find their correct precinct and tell them where to go, Blackwell's spokesman Carlo LoParo said.
They also may cast provisional ballots at their county election board. Provisional voting allows properly registered voters to cast ballots even when their names don't appear on registration rolls because they moved or they were left off. "It has a potential of being a very big issue, and how we train and how we prepare for it will dictate how we handle the situation,'' said Michael Sciortino, president of the Ohio Association of Election Officials and director of the Mahoning County elections board.
Read More >>
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Provisional ballots could be the hanging chads of the 2004 presidential election, say critics of Ohio's guidelines for handling those votes.
Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell recently issued a directive to county election officials saying they are allowed to count provisional ballots only from voters who go to the correct polling location for their home address. Blackwell has ordered that if residents go to the wrong precinct, poll workers must find their correct precinct and tell them where to go, Blackwell's spokesman Carlo LoParo said.
They also may cast provisional ballots at their county election board. Provisional voting allows properly registered voters to cast ballots even when their names don't appear on registration rolls because they moved or they were left off. "It has a potential of being a very big issue, and how we train and how we prepare for it will dictate how we handle the situation,'' said Michael Sciortino, president of the Ohio Association of Election Officials and director of the Mahoning County elections board.
Read More >>
Fla. County Must Install Voting for Blind
September 29, 2004
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Duval County to install special voting machines for blind and disabled voters in time for the November election.
The county claims that installing the machines could cost millions and that it doesn't have enough time to comply. It immediately began crafting an appeal.
Read More >>
September 29, 2004
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Duval County to install special voting machines for blind and disabled voters in time for the November election.
The county claims that installing the machines could cost millions and that it doesn't have enough time to comply. It immediately began crafting an appeal.
Read More >>
Hurdles Remain for American Voters Who Live Overseas
Michael Moss - September 29, 2004
Four years after overseas voting became a battleground in the presidential election in Florida, millions of civilians and soldiers living abroad still face a bewildering and unwieldy system of absentee balloting that could prevent their votes from being counted.
Election officials concede that tens of thousands of Americans overseas might not get ballots in time to cast votes. Late primaries and legal wrangling caused election offices in at least 8 of the 15 swing states to fail to mail absentee ballots by Sept. 19, a cutoff date officials say is necessary to ensure that they can be returned on time, a survey by The New York Times shows. In Florida in 2000, late-arriving ballots became a divisive issue when some were counted and others were disqualified.
The tardy ballots are just one of several setbacks or missteps that have affected the ability of the estimated 4.4 million eligible voters overseas to participate in the presidential election. Some have been unable to send their registrations to a Pentagon contractor's computers, which are clogged by thousands of voter forms. Others were denied access to a Web site designed to help Americans abroad vote. And many voters simply have had trouble navigating the rules and methods that determine how and when to register and vote and that vary by state.
Read More >>
Michael Moss - September 29, 2004
Four years after overseas voting became a battleground in the presidential election in Florida, millions of civilians and soldiers living abroad still face a bewildering and unwieldy system of absentee balloting that could prevent their votes from being counted.
Election officials concede that tens of thousands of Americans overseas might not get ballots in time to cast votes. Late primaries and legal wrangling caused election offices in at least 8 of the 15 swing states to fail to mail absentee ballots by Sept. 19, a cutoff date officials say is necessary to ensure that they can be returned on time, a survey by The New York Times shows. In Florida in 2000, late-arriving ballots became a divisive issue when some were counted and others were disqualified.
The tardy ballots are just one of several setbacks or missteps that have affected the ability of the estimated 4.4 million eligible voters overseas to participate in the presidential election. Some have been unable to send their registrations to a Pentagon contractor's computers, which are clogged by thousands of voter forms. Others were denied access to a Web site designed to help Americans abroad vote. And many voters simply have had trouble navigating the rules and methods that determine how and when to register and vote and that vary by state.
Read More >>
Blackwell ends paper chase
Some could be unable to vote because of flap over registration forms
Catherine Candisky - The Columbus Dispatch - Sept 29, 2004
Under fire from voting-rights advocates, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell retreated yesterday from a directive that critics said would slow voter-registration efforts and even block some people from casting a ballot Nov. 2.
At issue is a reminder Blackwell issued this month to county boards of election that voter-registration forms must be printed on "white, uncoated paper of not less than 80-pound text weight," a heavy, cardlike stock.
While the Franklin County Board of Elections and others have continued accepting forms submitted on lighter-weight paper, some county elections officials said yesterday they have been disqualifying registrations because the paper was not thick enough.
Critics charged that the confusion and inconsistency threatened to prevent tens of thousands of would-be voters from participating in the general election and could trigger lawsuits challenging the results. They also blasted Blackwell for issuing the directive less than a month before Ohio’s voter registration deadline and at a time when elections officials are working around-the-clock to keep up with record-smashing registration efforts in a presidential battleground state.
Read More >>
Some could be unable to vote because of flap over registration forms
Catherine Candisky - The Columbus Dispatch - Sept 29, 2004
Under fire from voting-rights advocates, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell retreated yesterday from a directive that critics said would slow voter-registration efforts and even block some people from casting a ballot Nov. 2.
At issue is a reminder Blackwell issued this month to county boards of election that voter-registration forms must be printed on "white, uncoated paper of not less than 80-pound text weight," a heavy, cardlike stock.
While the Franklin County Board of Elections and others have continued accepting forms submitted on lighter-weight paper, some county elections officials said yesterday they have been disqualifying registrations because the paper was not thick enough.
Critics charged that the confusion and inconsistency threatened to prevent tens of thousands of would-be voters from participating in the general election and could trigger lawsuits challenging the results. They also blasted Blackwell for issuing the directive less than a month before Ohio’s voter registration deadline and at a time when elections officials are working around-the-clock to keep up with record-smashing registration efforts in a presidential battleground state.
Read More >>
Something rotten in the state of Florida
29 September 2004
Pregnant chads, vanishing voters... the election fiasco of 2000 made the Sunshine State a laughing stock. More importantly, it put George Bush in the White House. You'd think they'd want to get it right this time. But no, as Andrew Gumbel discovers, the democratic process is more flawed than ever.
Read More >>
29 September 2004
Pregnant chads, vanishing voters... the election fiasco of 2000 made the Sunshine State a laughing stock. More importantly, it put George Bush in the White House. You'd think they'd want to get it right this time. But no, as Andrew Gumbel discovers, the democratic process is more flawed than ever.
Read More >>
Veterans Support Voting Rights
What’s the Situation in Ohio?
There are two very serious problems in Ohio that may block tens of thousands of new voters from registering and voting. No one wants a repeat of Florida.
First, the Secretary of State of State, J. Kenneth Blackwell, is rejecting voter registration forms because the paper used by citizens was the incorrect thickness. Blackwell is insisting on 80 weight paper, even though thousands of voter registration forms were sent in using a pre-printed form in a local newspaper. Tens of thousands of new voters signed up in Ohio in the past few months.
Second, Blackwell also intends to reject provisional ballots designed to protect voting rights if the voter votes at the wrong precinct. Nearly 100,000 voters used provisional ballots in 2000, and these voters may be refused the right to vote on November 2nd.
Why is Ohio Wrong?
There are three reasons why Blackwell’s actions are wrong ...
Read More >>
What’s the Situation in Ohio?
There are two very serious problems in Ohio that may block tens of thousands of new voters from registering and voting. No one wants a repeat of Florida.
First, the Secretary of State of State, J. Kenneth Blackwell, is rejecting voter registration forms because the paper used by citizens was the incorrect thickness. Blackwell is insisting on 80 weight paper, even though thousands of voter registration forms were sent in using a pre-printed form in a local newspaper. Tens of thousands of new voters signed up in Ohio in the past few months.
Second, Blackwell also intends to reject provisional ballots designed to protect voting rights if the voter votes at the wrong precinct. Nearly 100,000 voters used provisional ballots in 2000, and these voters may be refused the right to vote on November 2nd.
Why is Ohio Wrong?
There are three reasons why Blackwell’s actions are wrong ...
Read More >>
Mysterious touchscreen voting machine found
9/29/2004
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Members of the State Board of Elections were surprised to hear reports Tuesday that Diebold touchscreen voting machines similar to those used in Maryland were found abandoned recently on a street and in a bar in Baltimore.
Joseph Torre, voting systems and procurement director for the agency, confirmed that one machine was found, but assured board members it did not belong to Maryland.
"It wasn't one of ours," he said. "All 16,009 units are present and accounted for."
"That takes your breath away," board member Joan Beck said.
Torre said he was aware of only one machine being found, although election officials from Baltimore said they got a second call from someone saying he had found two machines on the sidewalk. He was told to notify the state agency, but Torre said no call was received.
Torre said the machine that was turned in did not have a state identification number on it and the serial number did not match the number of any of the machines purchased by the state. He said Diebold Election Systems had been asked to check the serial number to try to determine where the machine might have come from.
David Bear, a Diebold spokesman, said he was not aware that a machine had been turned in.
Asked about the possible origin of the machine, Torre said, "You can buy one on eBay."
Link >>
9/29/2004
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Members of the State Board of Elections were surprised to hear reports Tuesday that Diebold touchscreen voting machines similar to those used in Maryland were found abandoned recently on a street and in a bar in Baltimore.
Joseph Torre, voting systems and procurement director for the agency, confirmed that one machine was found, but assured board members it did not belong to Maryland.
"It wasn't one of ours," he said. "All 16,009 units are present and accounted for."
"That takes your breath away," board member Joan Beck said.
Torre said he was aware of only one machine being found, although election officials from Baltimore said they got a second call from someone saying he had found two machines on the sidewalk. He was told to notify the state agency, but Torre said no call was received.
Torre said the machine that was turned in did not have a state identification number on it and the serial number did not match the number of any of the machines purchased by the state. He said Diebold Election Systems had been asked to check the serial number to try to determine where the machine might have come from.
David Bear, a Diebold spokesman, said he was not aware that a machine had been turned in.
Asked about the possible origin of the machine, Torre said, "You can buy one on eBay."
Link >>
28 September 2004
Confusion, bad ballots hinder first voting days
Iowans targeted by GOP, inconvenienced by error
Lynn Campbell - September 28, 2004
The first few days of early voting in Iowa were marked by complaints and confusion as Republicans tried to turn the state's absentee-ballot efforts to their advantage, and a costly mistake in northwest Iowa caused hundreds of spoiled ballots.
Read More >>
Iowans targeted by GOP, inconvenienced by error
Lynn Campbell - September 28, 2004
The first few days of early voting in Iowa were marked by complaints and confusion as Republicans tried to turn the state's absentee-ballot efforts to their advantage, and a costly mistake in northwest Iowa caused hundreds of spoiled ballots.
Read More >>
Jeb Bush Dismisses Carter on Fla. Vote
David Royse - AP - Sept 28, 2004
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - [nazi dictator-in-waiting] Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday that "conspiracy theories" about the state's voting machines are "nonsense," and he criticized former President Jimmy Carter for questioning whether Florida can hold a fair election.
Read More >>
David Royse - AP - Sept 28, 2004
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - [nazi dictator-in-waiting] Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday that "conspiracy theories" about the state's voting machines are "nonsense," and he criticized former President Jimmy Carter for questioning whether Florida can hold a fair election.
Read More >>
California signs bill banning paperless voting systems
9/28/2004
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gov. Arnold [doping, groping, gang-banging, unelected election-stealing, son-of-a-genuine-nazi, cretin] Schwarzenegger signed a law requiring that all electronic voting machines produce paper records of every ballot cast, beginning in 2006. [Schwarzenazi made sure it would not go into effect until long after the unelected psychopathic moron reinstalls himself in the White House. I hope both of the treasonous bastards get exactly what they deserve one of these days.]
Under the bill, signed Monday, voters will not be able to touch or keep the records; instead, election officials will put them in lock boxes in case a recount becomes necessary.
Computer scientists and voter advocates have warned that touch-screens and other electronic voting machinery are vulnerable to hackers, software bugs and hardware failures, and that a paper trail is needed in case something goes wrong.
Legislators in nearly two dozen states have introduced similar bills. New Hampshire, Illinois and Oregon have laws requiring paper backups, but those states have few, if any, touch-screen voting terminals.
By contrast, about 4.5 million registered voters in 10 California counties are eligible to vote on paperless terminals in November, representing one in 10 of all voters nationwide who cast electronic ballots.
"This will definitely help advance the paper trail issue elsewhere," said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. "California represents a huge part of the voting equipment market, and all the major vendors have equipment here. If they want to keep their business here, they'll have to come up with a paper trail feature."
Read More >>
9/28/2004
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gov. Arnold [doping, groping, gang-banging, unelected election-stealing, son-of-a-genuine-nazi, cretin] Schwarzenegger signed a law requiring that all electronic voting machines produce paper records of every ballot cast, beginning in 2006. [Schwarzenazi made sure it would not go into effect until long after the unelected psychopathic moron reinstalls himself in the White House. I hope both of the treasonous bastards get exactly what they deserve one of these days.]
Under the bill, signed Monday, voters will not be able to touch or keep the records; instead, election officials will put them in lock boxes in case a recount becomes necessary.
Computer scientists and voter advocates have warned that touch-screens and other electronic voting machinery are vulnerable to hackers, software bugs and hardware failures, and that a paper trail is needed in case something goes wrong.
Legislators in nearly two dozen states have introduced similar bills. New Hampshire, Illinois and Oregon have laws requiring paper backups, but those states have few, if any, touch-screen voting terminals.
By contrast, about 4.5 million registered voters in 10 California counties are eligible to vote on paperless terminals in November, representing one in 10 of all voters nationwide who cast electronic ballots.
"This will definitely help advance the paper trail issue elsewhere," said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. "California represents a huge part of the voting equipment market, and all the major vendors have equipment here. If they want to keep their business here, they'll have to come up with a paper trail feature."
Read More >>
Survey Says: Cell Phones Left Out
Sep. 28, 2004
In order to craft the most accurate poll, political polling institutions like the Gallup Organization want their surveys to have an equal chance of reaching every U.S. adult. Because nearly every American owns a telephone, most major polls are done by phone.
But pollsters like Gallup's Steve Hanway are worried because a growing number of adults' only phone has no cord. The Hanways of the world don't want cell-phone users to have to pay for minutes during a survey call, and some are afraid of liability issues raised by the possibility that a cell-phone user may be driving. So outfits like Gallup and California's influential Field Poll only call land lines.
And that means that because pollsters are missing out on a small -- but growing -- segment of the population, the veracity of polls purporting to represent the views of all Americans may be in question.
Read More >>
Sep. 28, 2004
In order to craft the most accurate poll, political polling institutions like the Gallup Organization want their surveys to have an equal chance of reaching every U.S. adult. Because nearly every American owns a telephone, most major polls are done by phone.
But pollsters like Gallup's Steve Hanway are worried because a growing number of adults' only phone has no cord. The Hanways of the world don't want cell-phone users to have to pay for minutes during a survey call, and some are afraid of liability issues raised by the possibility that a cell-phone user may be driving. So outfits like Gallup and California's influential Field Poll only call land lines.
And that means that because pollsters are missing out on a small -- but growing -- segment of the population, the veracity of polls purporting to represent the views of all Americans may be in question.
Read More >>
Lawmakers want paper records of e-ballots
Rachel Konrad - AP - Sept 28, 2004
Just five weeks before election day, federal legislators are increasingly casting doubt on electronic voting terminals and demanding that touchscreen computers produce paper records.
But it's unlikely that their concerns will result in reforms before Nov. 2. Many are pushing for national regulations requiring a "voter verifiable paper trail" starting in 2006 or later.
On Monday, a federal appeals court revived a lawsuit filed by Florida Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler, who is demanding that all touchscreen voting machines in Florida produce a paper record of every vote cast.
A three-judge panel in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale to reopen the case, which could affect 15 Florida counties whose electronic voting terminals do not issue paper records.
Read More >>
Rachel Konrad - AP - Sept 28, 2004
Just five weeks before election day, federal legislators are increasingly casting doubt on electronic voting terminals and demanding that touchscreen computers produce paper records.
But it's unlikely that their concerns will result in reforms before Nov. 2. Many are pushing for national regulations requiring a "voter verifiable paper trail" starting in 2006 or later.
On Monday, a federal appeals court revived a lawsuit filed by Florida Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler, who is demanding that all touchscreen voting machines in Florida produce a paper record of every vote cast.
A three-judge panel in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale to reopen the case, which could affect 15 Florida counties whose electronic voting terminals do not issue paper records.
Read More >>
Group Wants Ballot Distribution Blocked
Matt Volz - AP
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Backers of an initiative to change the way U.S. Senate vacancies are filled in Alaska on Monday asked a judge to block printing and distribution of the Nov. 2 ballots, contending the state's summary of the measure is misleading.
The Trust the People Initiative Committee is seeking a temporary restraining order and an injunction.
Currently, the governor can appoint a replacement to a vacant Senate seat. The initiative would abolish appointments and require a special election be held in all cases except when the vacancy occurs within 60 days of a primary election.
The drive to get the measure on the ballot was started by three state Democratic lawmakers after Republican Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter Lisa to his Senate seat when he became governor in 2002.
Read More >>
Matt Volz - AP
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Backers of an initiative to change the way U.S. Senate vacancies are filled in Alaska on Monday asked a judge to block printing and distribution of the Nov. 2 ballots, contending the state's summary of the measure is misleading.
The Trust the People Initiative Committee is seeking a temporary restraining order and an injunction.
Currently, the governor can appoint a replacement to a vacant Senate seat. The initiative would abolish appointments and require a special election be held in all cases except when the vacancy occurs within 60 days of a primary election.
The drive to get the measure on the ballot was started by three state Democratic lawmakers after Republican Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter Lisa to his Senate seat when he became governor in 2002.
Read More >>
AFL-CIO - Top Five Risks to Eligible Voters in 2004
Voting Registration Problems
Erroneous Purging
Problems with the New ID Requirement
Difficulties with Voting Systems
Failure to Count Provisional Ballots
Read More >>
Voting Registration Problems
Erroneous Purging
Problems with the New ID Requirement
Difficulties with Voting Systems
Failure to Count Provisional Ballots
Read More >>
Kiffmeyer Warns Of Voter Registration Scam
Sep 28, 2004
St. Paul (AP) Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer says her office is getting complaints about a voter registration scam.
Kiffmeyer says residents in the Moorhead area and Rice and Isanti counties have been contacted by telemarketers who say they're with the League of Minnesota Voters or a group called "Women's Right to Vote."
The callers tell residents they're not registered to vote and then ask for residents' Social Security number and other personal information. Kiffmeyer says the so-called voter registration calls are not legitimate.
She says you can't register to vote over the phone -- you have to sign a form.
Kiffmeyer says the voter registration form also does not ask for a full Social Security number. The League of Women Voters says it's not involved with the phone calls, and is working to get the word out about them.
Read More >>
Sep 28, 2004
St. Paul (AP) Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer says her office is getting complaints about a voter registration scam.
Kiffmeyer says residents in the Moorhead area and Rice and Isanti counties have been contacted by telemarketers who say they're with the League of Minnesota Voters or a group called "Women's Right to Vote."
The callers tell residents they're not registered to vote and then ask for residents' Social Security number and other personal information. Kiffmeyer says the so-called voter registration calls are not legitimate.
She says you can't register to vote over the phone -- you have to sign a form.
Kiffmeyer says the voter registration form also does not ask for a full Social Security number. The League of Women Voters says it's not involved with the phone calls, and is working to get the word out about them.
Read More >>
27 September 2004
Politics and sleaze envelop Orlando
As the presidential campaign approaches its showdown, the Republicans in the state run by George Bush's brother are up to their tricks again. Andrew Gumbel reports from the heart of Florida
27 September 2004
In Orlando, the Florida home of Disneyworld and a vital political battleground, the campaign for the November presidential election is getting sly, nasty and very, very personal. Normally, at this stage of the proceedings, Ezzie Thomas, a well-known character on the predominantly African-American west side of town, would be out chatting to the people, registering them to vote before the 4 October deadline and helping them with absentee ballots if they do not think they will have time to make it to the polls on election day. But the 73-year-old Mr Thomas, an affable ladies' man, is staying out of public view for fear of exacerbating what is already a highly controversial - and highly political - criminal investigation of his election-related activities.
A similarly low profile is being taken by Steve Clelland, the head of the local firefighters' union. Last week, he did not even dare attend a local appearance by John Kerry, the candidate he is supporting for President, in case it added to the legal troubles facing his own organisation. The firefighters are also subject to a criminal investigation, the chief allegation - for which no evidence has been produced - being that they colluded with City Hall to set up an illegal slush fund for political campaigning.
What makes the troubles facing the two men particularly sinister is that they are declared Kerry supporters, with the power to bring in hundreds if not thousands of votes for the Democratic Party. The investigations are being conducted by the state police, known as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which reports directly to Governor Jeb Bush, brother of President George Bush.
Read More >>
As the presidential campaign approaches its showdown, the Republicans in the state run by George Bush's brother are up to their tricks again. Andrew Gumbel reports from the heart of Florida
27 September 2004
In Orlando, the Florida home of Disneyworld and a vital political battleground, the campaign for the November presidential election is getting sly, nasty and very, very personal. Normally, at this stage of the proceedings, Ezzie Thomas, a well-known character on the predominantly African-American west side of town, would be out chatting to the people, registering them to vote before the 4 October deadline and helping them with absentee ballots if they do not think they will have time to make it to the polls on election day. But the 73-year-old Mr Thomas, an affable ladies' man, is staying out of public view for fear of exacerbating what is already a highly controversial - and highly political - criminal investigation of his election-related activities.
A similarly low profile is being taken by Steve Clelland, the head of the local firefighters' union. Last week, he did not even dare attend a local appearance by John Kerry, the candidate he is supporting for President, in case it added to the legal troubles facing his own organisation. The firefighters are also subject to a criminal investigation, the chief allegation - for which no evidence has been produced - being that they colluded with City Hall to set up an illegal slush fund for political campaigning.
What makes the troubles facing the two men particularly sinister is that they are declared Kerry supporters, with the power to bring in hundreds if not thousands of votes for the Democratic Party. The investigations are being conducted by the state police, known as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which reports directly to Governor Jeb Bush, brother of President George Bush.
Read More >>
Computer scientists slam e-voting machines
Declan McCullagh - September 27, 2004
The world's oldest professional society of computer scientists on Monday took aim at electronic voting machines, recommending they not be used in elections unless they provide a physical paper trail. In a new position statement, the Association for Computing Machinery said that "voting systems should enable each voter to inspect a physical record to verify that his or her vote has been accurately cast and to serve as an independent check on the result produced and stored by the system."
Accidental bugs or intentional malicious code in e-voting machines could theoretically alter an election's results. ACM said that a paper trail will provide a way to double-check what's happening inside machines from companies such as Diebold Election Systems and Sequoia Voting Systems--a feat that would not otherwise be possible. Such systems are expected to be used by tens of millions of voters in the Nov. 2 U.S. election.
Read More >>
Declan McCullagh - September 27, 2004
The world's oldest professional society of computer scientists on Monday took aim at electronic voting machines, recommending they not be used in elections unless they provide a physical paper trail. In a new position statement, the Association for Computing Machinery said that "voting systems should enable each voter to inspect a physical record to verify that his or her vote has been accurately cast and to serve as an independent check on the result produced and stored by the system."
Accidental bugs or intentional malicious code in e-voting machines could theoretically alter an election's results. ACM said that a paper trail will provide a way to double-check what's happening inside machines from companies such as Diebold Election Systems and Sequoia Voting Systems--a feat that would not otherwise be possible. Such systems are expected to be used by tens of millions of voters in the Nov. 2 U.S. election.
Read More >>
Trial Ordered in Fla. E-Ballot Lawsuit
Jackie Hallifax - AP - Sept 27, 2004
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Just five weeks before Election Day, a federal appeals court Monday revived a lawsuit demanding that all Florida voters who use touchscreen machines receive a paper receipt, in case a recount becomes necessary.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale to reopen the case, which could affect 15 Florida counties whose electronic voting terminals do not issue paper records.
It was not immediately unclear if the case could be decided before the Nov. 2 presidential election.
The three-judge panel in Atlanta wrote that U.S. District Judge James Cohn misapplied a 35-year legal doctrine when he threw out the lawsuit filed by Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla.
Wexler claims that paperless ballots cannot be recounted as accurately as those cast on paper. He sued state election officials, arguing that the Constitution would be violated by a voting system that varies from county to county.
[...] A growing number of voter rights advocates and computer scientists say such systems expose elections to hackers, software bugs and hardware failures. They are urging election officials to ban paperless machines — or provide stacks of paper ballots voters can use on Election Day if they want.
[...] In a similar lawsuit filed by Wexler in state court, an appeals court ruled last month that a paper trail is not required, saying voters are not guaranteed "a perfect voting system." That case has been appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.
The federal appeals court said there is no reason the federal case cannot go forward at the same time.
All counties in Maryland, Georgia and Delaware have touchscreens. They have also been installed in California, New Mexico, Texas and other states.
Read More >>
Jackie Hallifax - AP - Sept 27, 2004
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Just five weeks before Election Day, a federal appeals court Monday revived a lawsuit demanding that all Florida voters who use touchscreen machines receive a paper receipt, in case a recount becomes necessary.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale to reopen the case, which could affect 15 Florida counties whose electronic voting terminals do not issue paper records.
It was not immediately unclear if the case could be decided before the Nov. 2 presidential election.
The three-judge panel in Atlanta wrote that U.S. District Judge James Cohn misapplied a 35-year legal doctrine when he threw out the lawsuit filed by Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla.
Wexler claims that paperless ballots cannot be recounted as accurately as those cast on paper. He sued state election officials, arguing that the Constitution would be violated by a voting system that varies from county to county.
[...] A growing number of voter rights advocates and computer scientists say such systems expose elections to hackers, software bugs and hardware failures. They are urging election officials to ban paperless machines — or provide stacks of paper ballots voters can use on Election Day if they want.
[...] In a similar lawsuit filed by Wexler in state court, an appeals court ruled last month that a paper trail is not required, saying voters are not guaranteed "a perfect voting system." That case has been appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.
The federal appeals court said there is no reason the federal case cannot go forward at the same time.
All counties in Maryland, Georgia and Delaware have touchscreens. They have also been installed in California, New Mexico, Texas and other states.
Read More >>
Still Seeking a Fair Florida Vote
By Jimmy Carter - September 27, 2004
After the debacle in Florida four years ago, former president Gerald Ford and I were asked to lead a blue-ribbon commission to recommend changes in the American electoral process. After months of concerted effort by a dedicated and bipartisan group of experts, we presented unanimous recommendations to the president and Congress. The government responded with the Help America Vote Act of October 2002. Unfortunately, however, many of the act's key provisions have not been implemented because of inadequate funding or political disputes.
The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely, even as many other nations are conducting elections that are internationally certified to be transparent, honest and fair.
The Carter Center has monitored more than 50 elections, all of them held under contentious, troubled or dangerous conditions. When I describe these activities, either in the United States or in foreign forums, the almost inevitable questions are: "Why don't you observe the election in Florida?" and "How do you explain the serious problems with elections there?"
The answer to the first question is that we can monitor only about five elections each year, and meeting crucial needs in other nations is our top priority. (Our most recent ones were in Venezuela and Indonesia, and the next will be in Mozambique.) A partial answer to the other question is that some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida.
The most significant of these requirements are:
• A nonpartisan electoral commission or a trusted and nonpartisan official who will be responsible for organizing and conducting the electoral process before, during and after the actual voting takes place. Although rarely perfect in their objectivity, such top administrators are at least subject to public scrutiny and responsible for the integrity of their decisions. Florida voting officials have proved to be highly partisan, brazenly violating a basic need for an unbiased and universally trusted authority to manage all elements of the electoral process.
• Uniformity in voting procedures, so that all citizens, regardless of their social or financial status, have equal assurance that their votes are cast in the same way and will be tabulated with equal accuracy. Modern technology is already in use that makes electronic voting possible, with accurate and almost immediate tabulation and with paper ballot printouts so all voters can have confidence in the integrity of the process. There is no reason these proven techniques, used overseas and in some U.S. states, could not be used in Florida.
It was obvious that in 2000 these basic standards were not met in Florida, and there are disturbing signs that once again, as we prepare for a presidential election, some of the state's leading officials hold strong political biases that prevent necessary reforms.
Four years ago, the top election official, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, was also the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney state campaign committee. The same strong bias has become evident in her successor, Glenda Hood, who was a highly partisan elector for George W. Bush in 2000. Several thousand ballots of African Americans were thrown out on technicalities in 2000, and a fumbling attempt has been made recently to disqualify 22,000 African Americans (likely Democrats), but only 61 Hispanics (likely Republicans), as alleged felons.
The top election official has also played a leading role in qualifying Ralph Nader as a candidate, knowing that two-thirds of his votes in the previous election came at the expense of Al Gore. She ordered Nader's name be included on absentee ballots even before the state Supreme Court ruled on the controversial issue.
Florida's governor, Jeb Bush, naturally a strong supporter of his brother, has taken no steps to correct these departures from principles of fair and equal treatment or to prevent them in the future.
It is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral practices in any nation. It is especially objectionable among us Americans, who have prided ourselves on setting a global example for pure democracy. With reforms unlikely at this late stage of the election, perhaps the only recourse will be to focus maximum public scrutiny on the suspicious process in Florida.
Former president Carter is chairman of the Carter Center in Atlanta.
Read More >>
By Jimmy Carter - September 27, 2004
After the debacle in Florida four years ago, former president Gerald Ford and I were asked to lead a blue-ribbon commission to recommend changes in the American electoral process. After months of concerted effort by a dedicated and bipartisan group of experts, we presented unanimous recommendations to the president and Congress. The government responded with the Help America Vote Act of October 2002. Unfortunately, however, many of the act's key provisions have not been implemented because of inadequate funding or political disputes.
The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely, even as many other nations are conducting elections that are internationally certified to be transparent, honest and fair.
The Carter Center has monitored more than 50 elections, all of them held under contentious, troubled or dangerous conditions. When I describe these activities, either in the United States or in foreign forums, the almost inevitable questions are: "Why don't you observe the election in Florida?" and "How do you explain the serious problems with elections there?"
The answer to the first question is that we can monitor only about five elections each year, and meeting crucial needs in other nations is our top priority. (Our most recent ones were in Venezuela and Indonesia, and the next will be in Mozambique.) A partial answer to the other question is that some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida.
The most significant of these requirements are:
• A nonpartisan electoral commission or a trusted and nonpartisan official who will be responsible for organizing and conducting the electoral process before, during and after the actual voting takes place. Although rarely perfect in their objectivity, such top administrators are at least subject to public scrutiny and responsible for the integrity of their decisions. Florida voting officials have proved to be highly partisan, brazenly violating a basic need for an unbiased and universally trusted authority to manage all elements of the electoral process.
• Uniformity in voting procedures, so that all citizens, regardless of their social or financial status, have equal assurance that their votes are cast in the same way and will be tabulated with equal accuracy. Modern technology is already in use that makes electronic voting possible, with accurate and almost immediate tabulation and with paper ballot printouts so all voters can have confidence in the integrity of the process. There is no reason these proven techniques, used overseas and in some U.S. states, could not be used in Florida.
It was obvious that in 2000 these basic standards were not met in Florida, and there are disturbing signs that once again, as we prepare for a presidential election, some of the state's leading officials hold strong political biases that prevent necessary reforms.
Four years ago, the top election official, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, was also the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney state campaign committee. The same strong bias has become evident in her successor, Glenda Hood, who was a highly partisan elector for George W. Bush in 2000. Several thousand ballots of African Americans were thrown out on technicalities in 2000, and a fumbling attempt has been made recently to disqualify 22,000 African Americans (likely Democrats), but only 61 Hispanics (likely Republicans), as alleged felons.
The top election official has also played a leading role in qualifying Ralph Nader as a candidate, knowing that two-thirds of his votes in the previous election came at the expense of Al Gore. She ordered Nader's name be included on absentee ballots even before the state Supreme Court ruled on the controversial issue.
Florida's governor, Jeb Bush, naturally a strong supporter of his brother, has taken no steps to correct these departures from principles of fair and equal treatment or to prevent them in the future.
It is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral practices in any nation. It is especially objectionable among us Americans, who have prided ourselves on setting a global example for pure democracy. With reforms unlikely at this late stage of the election, perhaps the only recourse will be to focus maximum public scrutiny on the suspicious process in Florida.
Former president Carter is chairman of the Carter Center in Atlanta.
Read More >>
Ohio rejects 1000s of voter registration applications due to paper weight
"When voter registration applications were maintained for years and used to verify signatures for petitions a requirement that the cards be on 80 lb. stock paper was adopted in Ohio, that law remains on the books. Since the applications are now scanned for preservation, there is no current need to continue that requirement... In the final days before the registration deadline Ken Blackwell, [Republican] Ohio Secretary of State, has ordered the local election boards to send out new applications to applicants who have submitted registrations on the wrong paper... The local boards have been bombarded with applications and will be unable to comply with Blackwell's order before the deadline to register to vote for this November's election."
"If you have any questions on this directive, please call my Elections Division at 614-466-2585." http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/news/index2.htm
For more information, contact Carlo LoParo at 614-752-8110
Email - guide@sos.state.oh.us
Read More >>
In Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) the board of elections officials are ignoring the edict because they have already had an avalanche of new registrations submitted on forms printed on the newsprint in The Plain Dealer.
"We don't have a micrometer at each desk to check the weight of the paper," said Michael Vu, director of the Cuyahoga County election Board.
https://www.daytondailynews.com/
Ironically, if an applicant downloaded the federal form onto paper that is not regulation, that application will be accepted in compliance with federal law. So in reality there is no substantive issue with the weight of the paper, the Secretary's order is simply to create a roadblock to limit new registration.
Katherine Harris should have been so cunning.
http://www.daytonforkerry.com/Blackwell.pdf
or Dayton Daily News (subscription only)
http://www.dailykos.com/user/Thistime
Ohio Secretary of State breaks federal law:
1971 Federal Voting Rights Act
(posted by kos) Sec. 1971. - Voting rights... (2) No person acting under color of law shall - ...(B) deny the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/9/27/183248/535
"When voter registration applications were maintained for years and used to verify signatures for petitions a requirement that the cards be on 80 lb. stock paper was adopted in Ohio, that law remains on the books. Since the applications are now scanned for preservation, there is no current need to continue that requirement... In the final days before the registration deadline Ken Blackwell, [Republican] Ohio Secretary of State, has ordered the local election boards to send out new applications to applicants who have submitted registrations on the wrong paper... The local boards have been bombarded with applications and will be unable to comply with Blackwell's order before the deadline to register to vote for this November's election."
"If you have any questions on this directive, please call my Elections Division at 614-466-2585." http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/news/index2.htm
For more information, contact Carlo LoParo at 614-752-8110
Email - guide@sos.state.oh.us
Read More >>
In Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) the board of elections officials are ignoring the edict because they have already had an avalanche of new registrations submitted on forms printed on the newsprint in The Plain Dealer.
"We don't have a micrometer at each desk to check the weight of the paper," said Michael Vu, director of the Cuyahoga County election Board.
https://www.daytondailynews.com/
Ironically, if an applicant downloaded the federal form onto paper that is not regulation, that application will be accepted in compliance with federal law. So in reality there is no substantive issue with the weight of the paper, the Secretary's order is simply to create a roadblock to limit new registration.
Katherine Harris should have been so cunning.
http://www.daytonforkerry.com/Blackwell.pdf
or Dayton Daily News (subscription only)
http://www.dailykos.com/user/Thistime
Ohio Secretary of State breaks federal law:
1971 Federal Voting Rights Act
(posted by kos) Sec. 1971. - Voting rights... (2) No person acting under color of law shall - ...(B) deny the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/9/27/183248/535
New law could have effect on college vote
Absentee ballots are option if registering with home address
Kathleen Gray - September 27, 2004
Getting young people to vote is a challenge in itself.
Those between the ages of 18 and 24 are the least likely age group to vote, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which reported that only 32.3 percent of the registered voters in that age range cast ballots in the 2000 presidential election.
But this year, college students are faced with the possibility that they may not get to vote at all, even if they are registered.
Read More >>
Absentee ballots are option if registering with home address
Kathleen Gray - September 27, 2004
Getting young people to vote is a challenge in itself.
Those between the ages of 18 and 24 are the least likely age group to vote, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which reported that only 32.3 percent of the registered voters in that age range cast ballots in the 2000 presidential election.
But this year, college students are faced with the possibility that they may not get to vote at all, even if they are registered.
Read More >>
26 September 2004
Election Heightens Terrorism Offensive
Officials to Publicize Increased Disruption Efforts for Nov. 2 Vote
Dan Eggen and Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post - September 27, 2004
Agencies across the federal government are launching an aggressive and unusually open offensive aimed at thwarting terrorist plots before and during the presidential election in November.
Numerous law enforcement and counterterrorism officials also warned last week that a heightened threat of terrorist attack will persist through the January inauguration.
The government's strategy will include heavy surveillance by the FBI, increased checks of terrorism watch lists by local police and heightened security at polling places on Nov. 2, officials said. At the U.S. Capitol, Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer has ordered a number of his officers to wear sophisticated new equipment to protect them from a biological or chemical attack.
[...] A national election security planning bulletin will be sent today to the 50 states and the District, containing guidelines to governors and election officials for coordination of law enforcement, polling place and ballot-counting security, legal powers to order emergency election changes and public communication from now through Election Day.
Read More >>
Officials to Publicize Increased Disruption Efforts for Nov. 2 Vote
Dan Eggen and Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post - September 27, 2004
Agencies across the federal government are launching an aggressive and unusually open offensive aimed at thwarting terrorist plots before and during the presidential election in November.
Numerous law enforcement and counterterrorism officials also warned last week that a heightened threat of terrorist attack will persist through the January inauguration.
The government's strategy will include heavy surveillance by the FBI, increased checks of terrorism watch lists by local police and heightened security at polling places on Nov. 2, officials said. At the U.S. Capitol, Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer has ordered a number of his officers to wear sophisticated new equipment to protect them from a biological or chemical attack.
[...] A national election security planning bulletin will be sent today to the 50 states and the District, containing guidelines to governors and election officials for coordination of law enforcement, polling place and ballot-counting security, legal powers to order emergency election changes and public communication from now through Election Day.
Read More >>
GOP Voter Vault Shipped Overseas
When the Republican Party clinched [stole] close gubernatorial races in Mississippi and Kentucky in 2003, it relied heavily on its Voter Vault database to get people to the voting booths. Though party officials are tight-lipped about what's inside the Vault, they've acknowledged it contains records on an estimated 168 million voters. PC World has recently learned that the major development work on the Voter Vault was done in India.
Read More >>
When the Republican Party clinched [stole] close gubernatorial races in Mississippi and Kentucky in 2003, it relied heavily on its Voter Vault database to get people to the voting booths. Though party officials are tight-lipped about what's inside the Vault, they've acknowledged it contains records on an estimated 168 million voters. PC World has recently learned that the major development work on the Voter Vault was done in India.
Read More >>
When five voted for millions
Robyn E. Blumner, Times Perspective Columnist
September 26, 2004
One of the darkest hours in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court was Dec. 12, 2000, at 10 p.m., when the five-member conservative majority handed the presidency to George W. Bush over his rival Al Gore.
Despite Florida's 61,000 statewide undervotes - possible legal votes that had not been counted by the machines - the high court claimed it was acting in the name of fairness to the state's voters when it overturned a decision by the Florida Supreme Court and stopped the recount.
At the time, there were still six days before the state's electors were scheduled meet and fully 25 days before Congress was to count the electoral votes. Yet the high court claimed there was no more time, effectively anointing Bush the winner in Florida by 537 votes.
With the Supreme Court to reconvene on Oct. 4 with the same group of justices and another potentially tight presidential election around the corner, it is worth revisiting this travesty.
[...] This was a court unhinged from the law, operating in a purely political guise, bereft of legitimacy.
Read More >>
Robyn E. Blumner, Times Perspective Columnist
September 26, 2004
One of the darkest hours in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court was Dec. 12, 2000, at 10 p.m., when the five-member conservative majority handed the presidency to George W. Bush over his rival Al Gore.
Despite Florida's 61,000 statewide undervotes - possible legal votes that had not been counted by the machines - the high court claimed it was acting in the name of fairness to the state's voters when it overturned a decision by the Florida Supreme Court and stopped the recount.
At the time, there were still six days before the state's electors were scheduled meet and fully 25 days before Congress was to count the electoral votes. Yet the high court claimed there was no more time, effectively anointing Bush the winner in Florida by 537 votes.
With the Supreme Court to reconvene on Oct. 4 with the same group of justices and another potentially tight presidential election around the corner, it is worth revisiting this travesty.
[...] This was a court unhinged from the law, operating in a purely political guise, bereft of legitimacy.
Read More >>
25 September 2004
Democrats worry about black voters in Orlando
Mark Schlueb - Sentinel - September 25, 2004
With a presidential election just weeks away, Democrats everywhere -- from Internet chat rooms to the floor of the U.S. Senate -- worry that Florida's electoral votes might hinge on events that have already unfolded in the living rooms of a few dozen west Orlando homes.
As the U.S. Justice Department investigates claims that Florida law-enforcement agents intimidated black voters in Orlando in an orchestrated attempt to reduce minority turnout, debate about the accusation's legitimacy percolates across the country.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement administrators vehemently deny that Gov. Jeb Bush ordered them to stifle the black vote to help his brother -- President Bush -- in November, and some prominent leaders from Orlando's black community agree.
But the accusation has taken hold among others who remember when black voters faced poll taxes and outright hostility when they tried to cast ballots.
"This is a classic example of whoever is in charge attempting to intimidate African-American voters," said Eugene Poole of Ocala, president of the nonpartisan Florida Voters League.
"It's not a problem that started yesterday. It started many moons ago, but it has generally been concealed," Poole said.
It is an allegation that has taken on particular importance in Orlando, which finds itself smack in the middle of the Interstate 4 corridor coveted by both parties as they battle for a key battleground state.
The core facts aren't in dispute:
Read More >>
Mark Schlueb - Sentinel - September 25, 2004
With a presidential election just weeks away, Democrats everywhere -- from Internet chat rooms to the floor of the U.S. Senate -- worry that Florida's electoral votes might hinge on events that have already unfolded in the living rooms of a few dozen west Orlando homes.
As the U.S. Justice Department investigates claims that Florida law-enforcement agents intimidated black voters in Orlando in an orchestrated attempt to reduce minority turnout, debate about the accusation's legitimacy percolates across the country.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement administrators vehemently deny that Gov. Jeb Bush ordered them to stifle the black vote to help his brother -- President Bush -- in November, and some prominent leaders from Orlando's black community agree.
But the accusation has taken hold among others who remember when black voters faced poll taxes and outright hostility when they tried to cast ballots.
"This is a classic example of whoever is in charge attempting to intimidate African-American voters," said Eugene Poole of Ocala, president of the nonpartisan Florida Voters League.
"It's not a problem that started yesterday. It started many moons ago, but it has generally been concealed," Poole said.
It is an allegation that has taken on particular importance in Orlando, which finds itself smack in the middle of the Interstate 4 corridor coveted by both parties as they battle for a key battleground state.
The core facts aren't in dispute:
Read More >>
24 September 2004
Oregon Librarian Thwarts Voter-Registration Fraud
September 24, 2004
A librarian in Medford, Oregon, uncovered in September the real identity of a group claiming to be part of a nonpartisan, nationwide voter-registration organization called America Votes. The group had called and sent letters to several libraries in Oregon, including Multnomah County, West Slope, and Corvallis-Benton County.
Meghan O’Flaherty, library manager of the Jackson County Headquarters Library, checked into a letter from a group called Sproul & Associates asking to set up a voter-registration booth in the library. The letter began: “Our firm has been contracted to help coordinate a national non-partisan voter registration drive, America Votes! in several states across the nation.” Checking the Internet, O’Flaherty found that Sproul & Associates is a political consulting firm headed by former Arizona State Republican Party Executive Director Nathan Sproul.
An employee at Sproul & Associates said the group’s drive is called Project America Votes and admitted to knowing about the similar names. Claiming an innocent mistake, Sproul said in the September 21 Medford Mail Tribune, “We were not trying to copy their name. All we were trying to do was register people to vote. You telling me that they even exist was really the first time I’d heard it.”
O’Flaherty contacted Kevin Looper, the state organizing director for America Votes, who told her that Sproul & Associates had absolutely nothing to do with his organization. “You’ll have to forgive me for not finding it credible that they would not have heard of a group that is one of the largest in the country.” He also said that America Votes is “in the process of pursuing all of our legal options to pursue [an order to] cease and desist.”
Looper credits O’Flaherty’s and other Oregon librarians’ quick thinking in the matter: “If it wasn’t for their initiative on it, I would not have known about it.”
Read More >>
September 24, 2004
A librarian in Medford, Oregon, uncovered in September the real identity of a group claiming to be part of a nonpartisan, nationwide voter-registration organization called America Votes. The group had called and sent letters to several libraries in Oregon, including Multnomah County, West Slope, and Corvallis-Benton County.
Meghan O’Flaherty, library manager of the Jackson County Headquarters Library, checked into a letter from a group called Sproul & Associates asking to set up a voter-registration booth in the library. The letter began: “Our firm has been contracted to help coordinate a national non-partisan voter registration drive, America Votes! in several states across the nation.” Checking the Internet, O’Flaherty found that Sproul & Associates is a political consulting firm headed by former Arizona State Republican Party Executive Director Nathan Sproul.
An employee at Sproul & Associates said the group’s drive is called Project America Votes and admitted to knowing about the similar names. Claiming an innocent mistake, Sproul said in the September 21 Medford Mail Tribune, “We were not trying to copy their name. All we were trying to do was register people to vote. You telling me that they even exist was really the first time I’d heard it.”
O’Flaherty contacted Kevin Looper, the state organizing director for America Votes, who told her that Sproul & Associates had absolutely nothing to do with his organization. “You’ll have to forgive me for not finding it credible that they would not have heard of a group that is one of the largest in the country.” He also said that America Votes is “in the process of pursuing all of our legal options to pursue [an order to] cease and desist.”
Looper credits O’Flaherty’s and other Oregon librarians’ quick thinking in the matter: “If it wasn’t for their initiative on it, I would not have known about it.”
Read More >>
Tallying the Woes of Electronic Balloting
Chris Gaither - Sept 24, 2004
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — More than 45 million people in 29 states and the District of Columbia are set to vote using touch-screen machines Nov. 2. But the devices once hailed as the answer to the nation's voting woes are stirring up some serious cases of buyer's remorse here and across the country.
Read More >>
Chris Gaither - Sept 24, 2004
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — More than 45 million people in 29 states and the District of Columbia are set to vote using touch-screen machines Nov. 2. But the devices once hailed as the answer to the nation's voting woes are stirring up some serious cases of buyer's remorse here and across the country.
Read More >>
23 September 2004
E-lective Alarm
Sept 23, 2004
Category: VOTE FRAUD
The technical director of Hopkins' Information Security Institute warns in a new report that computerized voting is critically flawed. But proponents are downplaying the risk.
It should be obvious that a voting system subject to tampering was the intention all along. Diebold makes automated teller machines that never lose track of a penny. There should be no problem making a voting machine that never loses track of a vote. Yet, the voting machines are clearly set up with deception in mind, such as the double set of internal books.
If the government cannot prove the accuracy and honesty of the voting process by which they claim authority, then the people are neither legally nor morally obliged to obey its dictates or to pay its bills.
Read More >>
Sept 23, 2004
Category: VOTE FRAUD
The technical director of Hopkins' Information Security Institute warns in a new report that computerized voting is critically flawed. But proponents are downplaying the risk.
It should be obvious that a voting system subject to tampering was the intention all along. Diebold makes automated teller machines that never lose track of a penny. There should be no problem making a voting machine that never loses track of a vote. Yet, the voting machines are clearly set up with deception in mind, such as the double set of internal books.
If the government cannot prove the accuracy and honesty of the voting process by which they claim authority, then the people are neither legally nor morally obliged to obey its dictates or to pay its bills.
Read More >>
E-Vote Fears Soar in Swing States
Sep. 23, 2004
Roughly a third of the votes cast in the November presidential election will be made on controversial paperless electronic voting machines, but as any political analyst can tell you, the only votes that will matter a great deal will be cast in a handful of swing states.
And just as the Kerry and Bush campaigns are spending most of their efforts in those states where neither holds a heavy margin in the polls, voting advocacy groups concerned with the integrity of voting technology are devoting their resources toward the states which matter most.
Read More >>
Sep. 23, 2004
Roughly a third of the votes cast in the November presidential election will be made on controversial paperless electronic voting machines, but as any political analyst can tell you, the only votes that will matter a great deal will be cast in a handful of swing states.
And just as the Kerry and Bush campaigns are spending most of their efforts in those states where neither holds a heavy margin in the polls, voting advocacy groups concerned with the integrity of voting technology are devoting their resources toward the states which matter most.
Read More >>
Pentagon lifts block on voter site
Jennifer Joan Lee - September 23, 2004
PARIS The U.S. Defense Department changed its explanation Wednesday for problems faced by certain overseas Americans attempting to access the government Web site for voters abroad, saying that an Internet security block imposed several years ago had been left in place inadvertently.
The block, which had prevented some U.S. citizens abroad from accessing www.fvap.gov, the site of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, as the Nov. 2 election nears, has now been lifted, a Pentagon spokesman said.
Tim Madden, spokesman for the Defense Department task force that oversees the Pentagon's computer networks, declined to specify the reason for the block.
Earlier, a Pentagon official indicated that the block had been imposed to thwart hackers, but Madden would not comment on this.
He insisted, however, that the Pentagon had not been not blocking the Federal Voting Assistance Program's site.
Earlier Wednesday, three members of Congress wrote to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warning that the block could result in "the potential disenfranchisement of millions of overseas Americans" and urging him to restore access to the site.
News that access to the voting assistance site was restricted, first reported in the International Herald Tribune on Monday, infuriated both Democrats and Republicans.
Read More >>
Jennifer Joan Lee - September 23, 2004
PARIS The U.S. Defense Department changed its explanation Wednesday for problems faced by certain overseas Americans attempting to access the government Web site for voters abroad, saying that an Internet security block imposed several years ago had been left in place inadvertently.
The block, which had prevented some U.S. citizens abroad from accessing www.fvap.gov, the site of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, as the Nov. 2 election nears, has now been lifted, a Pentagon spokesman said.
Tim Madden, spokesman for the Defense Department task force that oversees the Pentagon's computer networks, declined to specify the reason for the block.
Earlier, a Pentagon official indicated that the block had been imposed to thwart hackers, but Madden would not comment on this.
He insisted, however, that the Pentagon had not been not blocking the Federal Voting Assistance Program's site.
Earlier Wednesday, three members of Congress wrote to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warning that the block could result in "the potential disenfranchisement of millions of overseas Americans" and urging him to restore access to the site.
News that access to the voting assistance site was restricted, first reported in the International Herald Tribune on Monday, infuriated both Democrats and Republicans.
Read More >>
Security concerns raised about vote-count software
Keith Ervin - Seattle Times - Sept 23, 2004
King County and five other Washington counties will count votes in the November presidential election using software that has not been reviewed or approved by the federal government's independent testing laboratories.
The modified software, provisionally certified by the state Secretary of State's Office, was first used in last week's primary election. Three voting-equipment companies made what are described as minor changes to their software to comply with Washington's new primary.
State and county officials said there were no problems with the software in the primary, but critics of electronic-voting systems said the changes make the presidential election more vulnerable to fraud.
Critics also said they saw other security problems at King County election headquarters during the count of votes last week. Those observers said they were concerned about a "crash" of the central tabulating computer, transmission of poll results by modem and failure to guard floppy disks that were inserted into the central vote-tabulating computer.
Read More >>
Keith Ervin - Seattle Times - Sept 23, 2004
King County and five other Washington counties will count votes in the November presidential election using software that has not been reviewed or approved by the federal government's independent testing laboratories.
The modified software, provisionally certified by the state Secretary of State's Office, was first used in last week's primary election. Three voting-equipment companies made what are described as minor changes to their software to comply with Washington's new primary.
State and county officials said there were no problems with the software in the primary, but critics of electronic-voting systems said the changes make the presidential election more vulnerable to fraud.
Critics also said they saw other security problems at King County election headquarters during the count of votes last week. Those observers said they were concerned about a "crash" of the central tabulating computer, transmission of poll results by modem and failure to guard floppy disks that were inserted into the central vote-tabulating computer.
Read More >>
Vanity Fair:
How the Supreme Court Intentionally Stole the 2000 Election
Vanity Fair Investigative Piece
The article is now online. Read it.
Many of you will have heard of and read the lengthy October 2004 Vanity Fair article by David Margolick et al. on the 2000 election litigation, with a focus on never-before-reported details about what happened inside the Supreme Court. The piece has received a great deal of attention inside the Court because, as the article details, "[a] surprising number of [law] clerks [from that term] talked to Vanity Fair." Tony Mauro did a short piece on the article (subscription required), but given the new details the article contains, it has received surprisingly little press attention otherwise. Vanity Fair does not have a web-site, but we're grateful to have received permission to post the piece itself, as it appears in the magazine. So here you are, in two pieces: Part 1 and
Part 2 .
Read More >>
How the Supreme Court Intentionally Stole the 2000 Election
Vanity Fair Investigative Piece
The article is now online. Read it.
Many of you will have heard of and read the lengthy October 2004 Vanity Fair article by David Margolick et al. on the 2000 election litigation, with a focus on never-before-reported details about what happened inside the Supreme Court. The piece has received a great deal of attention inside the Court because, as the article details, "[a] surprising number of [law] clerks [from that term] talked to Vanity Fair." Tony Mauro did a short piece on the article (subscription required), but given the new details the article contains, it has received surprisingly little press attention otherwise. Vanity Fair does not have a web-site, but we're grateful to have received permission to post the piece itself, as it appears in the magazine. So here you are, in two pieces: Part 1 and
Part 2 .
Read More >>
22 September 2004
'Fox News: We Report, So You'll Decide to Vote Elsewhere,' Students Misled about Voting Rights
NEW YORK - September 22 - In a bizarre twist on Fox's election-year slogan, "We report, you decide," a local Fox affiliate, Fox 11 News in Tucson, is broadcasting reports aimed at scaring off University of Arizona students from voting on campus. A coalition of advocates wrote today to the managing editor at Fox 11 News in Tucson calling upon the station "to issue an on-air clarification of the rights of out-of-state and in-state University of Arizona students to register and vote in Pima County."
The groups demanding that Fox stop its scare tactics include Rock the Vote, the Feminist Majority Foundation, and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
The broadcasts in question aired on Aug. 31 and Sept. 8. In the Aug. 31 broadcast, Fox reporter Natalie Tejeda began her report with, "Several hundred students have registered to vote here over the past few days, but the Pima County registrar of voters believes many may have unintentionally committed a felony."
A few seconds later, Tejeda reported, "What many (students) don't realize is that legally, students from out of state aren't eligible to vote in Arizona because they're considered temporary residents."
In fact, in 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a ruling that college students must be allowed to register in their college communities. (United States vs. Symm, 439 U.S. 1105 (1979).) Arizona law requires that students seeking to vote at college must be U.S. citizens, 18 or older on Election Day, who have lived in the college community for 30 days prior to the election.
Tejeda closed her Aug. 31 report with this ominous warning and the clear recommendation that University of Arizona students not vote on campus: "So how easy is it to get caught? Well, starting this past January all voter applications are crosschecked with the Motor Vehicles Department and social security Administration. If they find that you are falsifying your residency you could be prosecuted. At this time we don't know if anybody has yet been indicted, but Roads (the local election official) says one of the easiest things you can do to avoid all that is simply go on line or pick up the phone and call your home state's elections office and ask for an absentee ballot."
CONTACT: Katherine Spillar of the Feminist Majority Foundation, 310-556-2500, Hans Riemer of Rock the Vote, 202-962-9710, Natalia Kennedy of the Brennan Center for Justice, 212-998-6736
Rock the Vote
http://www.rockthevote.com/
Feminist Majority Foundation
http://www.feminist.org/store/index.asp
Brennan Center for Justice
http://www.brennancenter.org/
Link >>
NEW YORK - September 22 - In a bizarre twist on Fox's election-year slogan, "We report, you decide," a local Fox affiliate, Fox 11 News in Tucson, is broadcasting reports aimed at scaring off University of Arizona students from voting on campus. A coalition of advocates wrote today to the managing editor at Fox 11 News in Tucson calling upon the station "to issue an on-air clarification of the rights of out-of-state and in-state University of Arizona students to register and vote in Pima County."
The groups demanding that Fox stop its scare tactics include Rock the Vote, the Feminist Majority Foundation, and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
The broadcasts in question aired on Aug. 31 and Sept. 8. In the Aug. 31 broadcast, Fox reporter Natalie Tejeda began her report with, "Several hundred students have registered to vote here over the past few days, but the Pima County registrar of voters believes many may have unintentionally committed a felony."
A few seconds later, Tejeda reported, "What many (students) don't realize is that legally, students from out of state aren't eligible to vote in Arizona because they're considered temporary residents."
In fact, in 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a ruling that college students must be allowed to register in their college communities. (United States vs. Symm, 439 U.S. 1105 (1979).) Arizona law requires that students seeking to vote at college must be U.S. citizens, 18 or older on Election Day, who have lived in the college community for 30 days prior to the election.
Tejeda closed her Aug. 31 report with this ominous warning and the clear recommendation that University of Arizona students not vote on campus: "So how easy is it to get caught? Well, starting this past January all voter applications are crosschecked with the Motor Vehicles Department and social security Administration. If they find that you are falsifying your residency you could be prosecuted. At this time we don't know if anybody has yet been indicted, but Roads (the local election official) says one of the easiest things you can do to avoid all that is simply go on line or pick up the phone and call your home state's elections office and ask for an absentee ballot."
CONTACT: Katherine Spillar of the Feminist Majority Foundation, 310-556-2500, Hans Riemer of Rock the Vote, 202-962-9710, Natalia Kennedy of the Brennan Center for Justice, 212-998-6736
Rock the Vote
http://www.rockthevote.com/
Feminist Majority Foundation
http://www.feminist.org/store/index.asp
Brennan Center for Justice
http://www.brennancenter.org/
Link >>
Activists Find More E-Vote Flaws
Kim Zetter - Wired.com - Sept 22, 2004
Voting activist Bev Harris and a computer scientist say they found more vulnerabilities in an electronic voting system made by Diebold Election Systems, weaknesses that could allow someone to alter votes in the election this November.
Diebold said Harris' claims are without merit and that if anyone did manage to change votes, a series of checks and balances that election officials perform at the end of an election would detect the changes.
Harris demonstrated the vulnerabilities to officials in the California secretary of state's office several weeks ago and will be showing them to federal legislative staff and journalists Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Harris and another activist have filed a lawsuit against Diebold in California, which the state has joined, maintaining that Diebold engaged in aggressive marketing to sell millions of dollars worth of equipment that it knew was insecure. Harris and the activist stand to make millions from the suit if they and the state win their case.
Read More >>
Kim Zetter - Wired.com - Sept 22, 2004
Voting activist Bev Harris and a computer scientist say they found more vulnerabilities in an electronic voting system made by Diebold Election Systems, weaknesses that could allow someone to alter votes in the election this November.
Diebold said Harris' claims are without merit and that if anyone did manage to change votes, a series of checks and balances that election officials perform at the end of an election would detect the changes.
Harris demonstrated the vulnerabilities to officials in the California secretary of state's office several weeks ago and will be showing them to federal legislative staff and journalists Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Harris and another activist have filed a lawsuit against Diebold in California, which the state has joined, maintaining that Diebold engaged in aggressive marketing to sell millions of dollars worth of equipment that it knew was insecure. Harris and the activist stand to make millions from the suit if they and the state win their case.
Read More >>
Electronic-Vote Critics Urge Changes to System
Andy Sullivan - Sept 22, 2004
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Voting activists on Wednesday enlisted computer experts, a trained monkey and a man on a hunger strike in a last-minute pitch to convince officials to improve the security of electronic vote-counting systems.
With six weeks to go before the Nov. 2 presidential election, activists said officials still have time to set up a paper trail as a counterweight to an electronic voting system they portrayed as wide open to manipulation.
"It's not too late; there are some security measures we can put in place," said Bev Harris, executive director of the activist group Black Box Voting.
The debate over electronic voting has largely centered on touch-screen systems like Diebold Inc.'s AccuVote-TS, which will be used by roughly one in three voters this November.
But a far greater threat is posed by the software used to tabulate votes on the county level, which counts not only electronic votes but those cast using traditional paper-based methods, Harris and others said.
"The touch-screen machines that we've been focusing our attention on, they're just the tip of the iceberg," said Joan Krawitz, co-founder of the National Ballot Integrity Project.
At a press conference, computer-security experts demonstrated what they said were flaws in tabulating software made by Diebold and Sequoia Voting Systems.
Experts showed ways they could alter vote totals without a password, record a vote for one candidate as a vote for another, or simply erase the vote totals completely.
[...] They also showed a video of a chimpanzee hitting two computer keys -- "delete" and "enter" -- to erase records that vote totals had been altered.
Read More >>
Andy Sullivan - Sept 22, 2004
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Voting activists on Wednesday enlisted computer experts, a trained monkey and a man on a hunger strike in a last-minute pitch to convince officials to improve the security of electronic vote-counting systems.
With six weeks to go before the Nov. 2 presidential election, activists said officials still have time to set up a paper trail as a counterweight to an electronic voting system they portrayed as wide open to manipulation.
"It's not too late; there are some security measures we can put in place," said Bev Harris, executive director of the activist group Black Box Voting.
The debate over electronic voting has largely centered on touch-screen systems like Diebold Inc.'s AccuVote-TS, which will be used by roughly one in three voters this November.
But a far greater threat is posed by the software used to tabulate votes on the county level, which counts not only electronic votes but those cast using traditional paper-based methods, Harris and others said.
"The touch-screen machines that we've been focusing our attention on, they're just the tip of the iceberg," said Joan Krawitz, co-founder of the National Ballot Integrity Project.
At a press conference, computer-security experts demonstrated what they said were flaws in tabulating software made by Diebold and Sequoia Voting Systems.
Experts showed ways they could alter vote totals without a password, record a vote for one candidate as a vote for another, or simply erase the vote totals completely.
[...] They also showed a video of a chimpanzee hitting two computer keys -- "delete" and "enter" -- to erase records that vote totals had been altered.
Read More >>
Millions Blocked from Voting in U.S. Election
Alan Elsner - Sept 22,2004
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Millions of U.S. citizens, including a disproportionate number of black voters, will be blocked from voting in the Nov. 2 presidential election because of legal barriers, faulty procedures or dirty tricks, according to civil rights and legal experts.
The largest category of those legally disenfranchised consists of almost 5 million former felons who have served prison sentences and been deprived of the right to vote under laws that have roots in the post-Civil War 19th century and were aimed at preventing black Americans from voting.
But millions of other votes in the 2000 presidential election were lost due to clerical and administrative errors while civil rights organizations have cataloged numerous tactics aimed at suppressing black voter turnout. Polls consistently find that black Americans overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.
"There are individuals and officials who are actively trying to stop people from voting who they think will vote against their party and that nearly always means stopping black people from voting Democratic," said Mary Frances Berry, head of the U.S. Commission on Human Rights.
Vicky Beasley, a field officer for People for the American Way, listed some of the ways voters have been "discouraged" from voting.
Read More >>
Alan Elsner - Sept 22,2004
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Millions of U.S. citizens, including a disproportionate number of black voters, will be blocked from voting in the Nov. 2 presidential election because of legal barriers, faulty procedures or dirty tricks, according to civil rights and legal experts.
The largest category of those legally disenfranchised consists of almost 5 million former felons who have served prison sentences and been deprived of the right to vote under laws that have roots in the post-Civil War 19th century and were aimed at preventing black Americans from voting.
But millions of other votes in the 2000 presidential election were lost due to clerical and administrative errors while civil rights organizations have cataloged numerous tactics aimed at suppressing black voter turnout. Polls consistently find that black Americans overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.
"There are individuals and officials who are actively trying to stop people from voting who they think will vote against their party and that nearly always means stopping black people from voting Democratic," said Mary Frances Berry, head of the U.S. Commission on Human Rights.
Vicky Beasley, a field officer for People for the American Way, listed some of the ways voters have been "discouraged" from voting.
Read More >>
Some wrongly told they can't vote
Judy Putnam - Sept 22, 2004
LANSING -- Newly registered voters in at least two Secretary of State offices were wrongly told they are ineligible to vote in the Nov. 2 election, sparking charges by Democrats that GOP Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is trying to suppress turnout.
But Land's spokeswoman said Tuesday that it was an isolated mistake made when fliers were handed out in Battle Creek and Ann Arbor branch offices during the past week. The notices were intended for distribution after Oct. 4, the last day of registration for the Nov. 2 election.
The notice told voters in bold capital letters:: "Registering today? Please be advised that you are not eligible to vote in the November 2, 2004 General Election."
Read More >>
Judy Putnam - Sept 22, 2004
LANSING -- Newly registered voters in at least two Secretary of State offices were wrongly told they are ineligible to vote in the Nov. 2 election, sparking charges by Democrats that GOP Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is trying to suppress turnout.
But Land's spokeswoman said Tuesday that it was an isolated mistake made when fliers were handed out in Battle Creek and Ann Arbor branch offices during the past week. The notices were intended for distribution after Oct. 4, the last day of registration for the Nov. 2 election.
The notice told voters in bold capital letters:: "Registering today? Please be advised that you are not eligible to vote in the November 2, 2004 General Election."
Read More >>
21 September 2004
Company claiming affiliation with the non-partisan 'America Votes' group appears to represent the GOP
A local librarian checking on a company’s request to set up a voter registration booth in the library discovered the company was not affiliated with a non-partisan national group as it claimed. Sproul & Associates, Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz., phoned and mailed the library in September, saying it had been hired by America Votes. That came as news to America Votes.
Read More >>
A local librarian checking on a company’s request to set up a voter registration booth in the library discovered the company was not affiliated with a non-partisan national group as it claimed. Sproul & Associates, Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz., phoned and mailed the library in September, saying it had been hired by America Votes. That came as news to America Votes.
Read More >>
The Fraud Squad
September 21, 2004
When will the outcome of the presidential election be known? Within hours of the close of polling? Within a week? Or, as was the case last time around, only after a weeks-long battle ended by the U.S. Supreme Court?
As the Wall Street Journal's Jeanne Cummings reported last week (subscription required), Democrats and Republicans alike aren't taking any chances -- they're each gearing up for a replay of the 2000 election:
In a closely fought race and with a divided electorate, both parties are planning to keep close tabs on election procedures and pounce on perceived irregularities as a wedge to gain an edge. Complications this year -- including an expected surge in early voting, new elections systems in some areas and large numbers of military voters overseas -- add to potential areas of conflict.
If anything, that's an understatement. Both parties have enlisted the services of thousands of poll watchers and lawyers (along with ample war chests) to challenge disputes as they arise.
There are plenty of early warning signs that the 2004 outcome could be fraught with problems. But unlike the political parties, the news media has not beefed up its resources and risks once again being overtaken and overwhelmed by events, should fraud and disenfranchisement turn into the story of the 2004 election.
Potential trouble spots are numerous.
Read More >>
September 21, 2004
When will the outcome of the presidential election be known? Within hours of the close of polling? Within a week? Or, as was the case last time around, only after a weeks-long battle ended by the U.S. Supreme Court?
As the Wall Street Journal's Jeanne Cummings reported last week (subscription required), Democrats and Republicans alike aren't taking any chances -- they're each gearing up for a replay of the 2000 election:
In a closely fought race and with a divided electorate, both parties are planning to keep close tabs on election procedures and pounce on perceived irregularities as a wedge to gain an edge. Complications this year -- including an expected surge in early voting, new elections systems in some areas and large numbers of military voters overseas -- add to potential areas of conflict.
If anything, that's an understatement. Both parties have enlisted the services of thousands of poll watchers and lawyers (along with ample war chests) to challenge disputes as they arise.
There are plenty of early warning signs that the 2004 outcome could be fraught with problems. But unlike the political parties, the news media has not beefed up its resources and risks once again being overtaken and overwhelmed by events, should fraud and disenfranchisement turn into the story of the 2004 election.
Potential trouble spots are numerous.
Read More >>
20 September 2004
9 States at Risk for Voting Rights Violations
There’s a long history of antidemocratic forces interfering with voters’ right to cast ballots. Here’s the kind of stuff that Election Protection volunteers will be taking action to prevent:
This summer, Representative John Pappageorge (R-Troy) of Michigan was quoted in the Detroit Free Press as saying, "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election." African Americans comprise 83 percent of Detroit's population.
In South Dakota's June 2004 primary, Native American voters were prevented from voting after they were challenged to provide photo IDs, which they were not required to present under state or federal law.
Earlier this year in Texas, a local district attorney claimed that students at a majority black college were not eligible to vote in the county where the college is located. It happened in Waller County—the same county where 26 years earlier, a federal court order was required to prevent discrimination against the college's students.
In Kentucky in July 2004, Black Republican officials joined to ask their state GOP party chairman to renounce plans to place "vote challengers" in African American precincts during the coming elections.
In 2003 in Philadelphia, voters in African American areas were systematically challenged by men carrying clipboards and driving a fleet of some 300 sedans with magnetic signs designed to look like law enforcement insignia.
In 2002 in Louisiana, flyers were distributed in African American communities telling voters they could go to the polls on Tuesday, December 10—three days after a Senate runoff election was actually held.
In 1998 in South Carolina, a state representative mailed 3,000 brochures to African American neighborhoods claiming that law enforcement agents would be "working" the election and warning voters that "this election is not worth going to jail."
ElectionProtection.org >>
There’s a long history of antidemocratic forces interfering with voters’ right to cast ballots. Here’s the kind of stuff that Election Protection volunteers will be taking action to prevent:
This summer, Representative John Pappageorge (R-Troy) of Michigan was quoted in the Detroit Free Press as saying, "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election." African Americans comprise 83 percent of Detroit's population.
In South Dakota's June 2004 primary, Native American voters were prevented from voting after they were challenged to provide photo IDs, which they were not required to present under state or federal law.
Earlier this year in Texas, a local district attorney claimed that students at a majority black college were not eligible to vote in the county where the college is located. It happened in Waller County—the same county where 26 years earlier, a federal court order was required to prevent discrimination against the college's students.
In Kentucky in July 2004, Black Republican officials joined to ask their state GOP party chairman to renounce plans to place "vote challengers" in African American precincts during the coming elections.
In 2003 in Philadelphia, voters in African American areas were systematically challenged by men carrying clipboards and driving a fleet of some 300 sedans with magnetic signs designed to look like law enforcement insignia.
In 2002 in Louisiana, flyers were distributed in African American communities telling voters they could go to the polls on Tuesday, December 10—three days after a Senate runoff election was actually held.
In 1998 in South Carolina, a state representative mailed 3,000 brochures to African American neighborhoods claiming that law enforcement agents would be "working" the election and warning voters that "this election is not worth going to jail."
ElectionProtection.org >>
Georgia Gets 'F-minus' on E-voting Machines
AJC reports:"With Election Day less than two months away, a conservative group rated Georgia's paperless touch-screen voting system the worst in the nation, with FL and several other states not far ahead. The Free Congress Foundation, a longtime fixture of the political right, warns in a new report that if the Nov. 2 vote totals are contested, the result could be a "fiasco," since so many states have installed electronic systems that have no paper ballots that can be recounted. Georgia, the first state to install a paperless system in all counties, was graded "F-minus" based on the reliability of the equipment and its capacity for a "verifiable recount." The foundation's "report card" also gave Florida a failing grade, in part because Palm Beach County has installed touch-screen machines to replace the infamous "butterfly" punch card ballots..."
Read More >>
AJC reports:"With Election Day less than two months away, a conservative group rated Georgia's paperless touch-screen voting system the worst in the nation, with FL and several other states not far ahead. The Free Congress Foundation, a longtime fixture of the political right, warns in a new report that if the Nov. 2 vote totals are contested, the result could be a "fiasco," since so many states have installed electronic systems that have no paper ballots that can be recounted. Georgia, the first state to install a paperless system in all counties, was graded "F-minus" based on the reliability of the equipment and its capacity for a "verifiable recount." The foundation's "report card" also gave Florida a failing grade, in part because Palm Beach County has installed touch-screen machines to replace the infamous "butterfly" punch card ballots..."
Read More >>
Operation Snowbird
"OPERATION: SNOWBIRD simply assumes that there are thousands of registered voters in the state of New York who intend to cast their votes for the Kerry/Edwards ticket, but who also spend at least part of the year residing in the state of Florida. Since the margin of victory for Kerry/Edwards in New York will once again be huge, if a certain number of New York voters were to instead cast their ballots in Florida, it would not adversely affect the outcome in New York. However, it could most definitely impact the outcome in Florida, providing the critical margin of victory for the Kerry/Edwards ticket."
Operation Snowbird >>
"OPERATION: SNOWBIRD simply assumes that there are thousands of registered voters in the state of New York who intend to cast their votes for the Kerry/Edwards ticket, but who also spend at least part of the year residing in the state of Florida. Since the margin of victory for Kerry/Edwards in New York will once again be huge, if a certain number of New York voters were to instead cast their ballots in Florida, it would not adversely affect the outcome in New York. However, it could most definitely impact the outcome in Florida, providing the critical margin of victory for the Kerry/Edwards ticket."
Operation Snowbird >>
Presidential Election at Risk:
Ohio's electoral system riddled with flaws
Bob Fitrakis
"Whether Kerry or Bush wins in Ohio may well depend on how many voters are disenfranchised in the state’s three largest counties: Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton. Respectively these three counties contain the Democratically rich big three-C cities Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. ...Unless these Hamilton County voters re-register by October 4, many in Cincinnati's urban center, they will show up at the polls and be barred from voting."
Read More >>
Ohio's electoral system riddled with flaws
Bob Fitrakis
"Whether Kerry or Bush wins in Ohio may well depend on how many voters are disenfranchised in the state’s three largest counties: Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton. Respectively these three counties contain the Democratically rich big three-C cities Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. ...Unless these Hamilton County voters re-register by October 4, many in Cincinnati's urban center, they will show up at the polls and be barred from voting."
Read More >>
Counted Out
Anne-Marie Cusac - The Progressive - Sept 20, 2004
Recent activity in key swing states points to dirty tricks aimed at disenfranchising minority voters.
What if Republican shenanigans tip the election? Many members of the media are looking at the dangers voting machines may pose to the integrity of the national election. Others are wondering whether voters may be disenfranchised by use of faulty felon lists, as happened in Florida in 2000. But there is another danger: Republicans may use a variety of tactics to suppress the vote of racial minorities in swing states. These tactics could determine control of the White House or the Senate.
In August, the Zogby International poll raised the number of battleground states from sixteen to twenty. In those states, notes John Zogby, "the pounding has been relentless."
Zogby was referring to negative ads, but the sanctity of the vote is also taking a pounding. In some states, Republicans are threatening to conduct widespread vote challenges in heavily minority areas. In others, recent events suggest that poll workers may wrongly turn away voters. In still others, new laws passed or enforced by Republicans have erected hurdles to trip up the minority vote. And on Election Day itself, say advocates, Republicans may direct numerous tricks at Democratic districts in an effort to confuse or frighten voters.
Here's a rundown of what's happening in several swing states.
Read More >>
Anne-Marie Cusac - The Progressive - Sept 20, 2004
Recent activity in key swing states points to dirty tricks aimed at disenfranchising minority voters.
What if Republican shenanigans tip the election? Many members of the media are looking at the dangers voting machines may pose to the integrity of the national election. Others are wondering whether voters may be disenfranchised by use of faulty felon lists, as happened in Florida in 2000. But there is another danger: Republicans may use a variety of tactics to suppress the vote of racial minorities in swing states. These tactics could determine control of the White House or the Senate.
In August, the Zogby International poll raised the number of battleground states from sixteen to twenty. In those states, notes John Zogby, "the pounding has been relentless."
Zogby was referring to negative ads, but the sanctity of the vote is also taking a pounding. In some states, Republicans are threatening to conduct widespread vote challenges in heavily minority areas. In others, recent events suggest that poll workers may wrongly turn away voters. In still others, new laws passed or enforced by Republicans have erected hurdles to trip up the minority vote. And on Election Day itself, say advocates, Republicans may direct numerous tricks at Democratic districts in an effort to confuse or frighten voters.
Here's a rundown of what's happening in several swing states.
Read More >>
Pentagon blocks site for voters outside U.S.
Jennifer Joan Lee - IHT - Sept 20, 2004
PARIS - In a decision that could affect Americans abroad who are not yet registered to vote in the Nov. 2 presidential election, the Pentagon has begun restricting international access to the official Web site intended to help overseas absentee voters cast ballots.
According to overseas-voter advocates who have been monitoring the situation, Internet service providers in at least 25 countries - including Yahoo Broadband in Japan, Wanadoo in France, BT Yahoo Broadband in Britain and Telefónica in Spain - have been denied access to the site of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, apparently to protect it from hackers.
In an e-mail addressed to a person in France who had tried to access the Web site, the Federal Voting Assistance Program's Web manager, Susan Leader, wrote: “We are sorry you cannot access www.fvap.gov. Unfortunately, Wanadoo France has had its access blocked to U.S. government Web sites due to Wanadoo users constantly attempting to hack these sites. We do not expect the block to be lifted"
Read More >>
Jennifer Joan Lee - IHT - Sept 20, 2004
PARIS - In a decision that could affect Americans abroad who are not yet registered to vote in the Nov. 2 presidential election, the Pentagon has begun restricting international access to the official Web site intended to help overseas absentee voters cast ballots.
According to overseas-voter advocates who have been monitoring the situation, Internet service providers in at least 25 countries - including Yahoo Broadband in Japan, Wanadoo in France, BT Yahoo Broadband in Britain and Telefónica in Spain - have been denied access to the site of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, apparently to protect it from hackers.
In an e-mail addressed to a person in France who had tried to access the Web site, the Federal Voting Assistance Program's Web manager, Susan Leader, wrote: “We are sorry you cannot access www.fvap.gov. Unfortunately, Wanadoo France has had its access blocked to U.S. government Web sites due to Wanadoo users constantly attempting to hack these sites. We do not expect the block to be lifted"
Read More >>
Voter Probes Raise Partisan Suspicions
Democrats, Allies See Politics Affecting Justice Department's Anti-Fraud Efforts
Jo Becker and Dan Eggen - Washington Post - Sept 20, 2004
Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney David Iglesias in New Mexico launched a statewide criminal task force to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the upcoming presidential election. The probe came after a sheriff who co-chairs President Bush's campaign in the state's largest county complained about thousands of questionable registrations turned in by Democratic-leaning groups.
"It appears that mischief is afoot and questions are lurking in the shadows," Iglesias told local reporters.
But Democratic Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, named to the task force to allay concerns that the probe was politically motivated, said the investigation is unnecessary.
"This is just an attempt to let people know that Big Brother is watching," Vigil-Giron, New Mexico's chief elections official, said in an interview. "It may well be aimed at trying to keep people away from the polls."
Read More >>
Democrats, Allies See Politics Affecting Justice Department's Anti-Fraud Efforts
Jo Becker and Dan Eggen - Washington Post - Sept 20, 2004
Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney David Iglesias in New Mexico launched a statewide criminal task force to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the upcoming presidential election. The probe came after a sheriff who co-chairs President Bush's campaign in the state's largest county complained about thousands of questionable registrations turned in by Democratic-leaning groups.
"It appears that mischief is afoot and questions are lurking in the shadows," Iglesias told local reporters.
But Democratic Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, named to the task force to allay concerns that the probe was politically motivated, said the investigation is unnecessary.
"This is just an attempt to let people know that Big Brother is watching," Vigil-Giron, New Mexico's chief elections official, said in an interview. "It may well be aimed at trying to keep people away from the polls."
Read More >>
19 September 2004
Ready or Not (and Maybe Not)
Electronic Voting Goes National
New York Times - 19 September 2004
Just over six weeks before the nation holds the first general election in which touch-screen voting will play a major role, specialists agree that whatever the remaining questions about the technology's readiness, it is now too late to make any significant changes.
Whether or not the machines are ready for the election - or the electorate ready for the machines - there is no turning back. In what may turn out to be one of the most scrutinized general elections in the country's history, nearly one-third of the more than 150 million registered voters in the United States will be asked to cast their ballots on machines whose accuracy and security against fraud have yet to be tested on such a grand scale.
Because of the uncertainties, experts say there is potential for post-election challenges in any precincts where the machines may malfunction, or where the margin of victory is thin. Sorting out such disputes could prove difficult.
"The possibility for erroneous votes or malicious programming is not as great as critics would have you believe," said Doug Chapin, the director of Electionline.org, a nonpartisan group tracking election reform. "But it's more than defenders of the technology want to admit. The truth lies somewhere in between."
Read More >>
Electronic Voting Goes National
New York Times - 19 September 2004
Just over six weeks before the nation holds the first general election in which touch-screen voting will play a major role, specialists agree that whatever the remaining questions about the technology's readiness, it is now too late to make any significant changes.
Whether or not the machines are ready for the election - or the electorate ready for the machines - there is no turning back. In what may turn out to be one of the most scrutinized general elections in the country's history, nearly one-third of the more than 150 million registered voters in the United States will be asked to cast their ballots on machines whose accuracy and security against fraud have yet to be tested on such a grand scale.
Because of the uncertainties, experts say there is potential for post-election challenges in any precincts where the machines may malfunction, or where the margin of victory is thin. Sorting out such disputes could prove difficult.
"The possibility for erroneous votes or malicious programming is not as great as critics would have you believe," said Doug Chapin, the director of Electionline.org, a nonpartisan group tracking election reform. "But it's more than defenders of the technology want to admit. The truth lies somewhere in between."
Read More >>
18 September 2004
245 Electronic Votes Lost in Fla. Primary
Sept 18, 2004
TAMPA, Fla. - A mistake by an election worker "lost" 245 electronic ballots cast in last month's Florida primary, but the mix-up didn't affect the outcome of any race when the votes were finally counted, authorities said.
Hillsborough County residents cast the ballots before the Aug. 31 election on an ATM-style machine set up at a library, said Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson. A member of Johnson's staff left the machine, made by Sequoia Voting Systems, in test mode. The votes were recorded and stored but not counted until they were found Friday.
Read More >>
Sept 18, 2004
TAMPA, Fla. - A mistake by an election worker "lost" 245 electronic ballots cast in last month's Florida primary, but the mix-up didn't affect the outcome of any race when the votes were finally counted, authorities said.
Hillsborough County residents cast the ballots before the Aug. 31 election on an ATM-style machine set up at a library, said Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson. A member of Johnson's staff left the machine, made by Sequoia Voting Systems, in test mode. The votes were recorded and stored but not counted until they were found Friday.
Read More >>
Voting Machines Missing for La. Election
Doug Simpson - AP - Sept 18, 2004
NEW ORLEANS - Many New Orleans voters were unable to cast ballots for hours Saturday on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage because voting machines had not been delivered to polling places, a state official said.
At least 59 precincts did not have voting machines when polls opened at 6 a.m. because officials with New Orleans' clerk of court's office failed to meet drivers who tried to deliver the machines earlier that morning, said Frances Sims, the state director of elections.
Secretary of State Fox McKeithen and workers in his office delivered the machines from a warehouse by noon, Fox spokesman Scott Madere said. He said New Orleans was the only city to experience the problem. It wasn't clear how many voters were affected.
Read More >>
Doug Simpson - AP - Sept 18, 2004
NEW ORLEANS - Many New Orleans voters were unable to cast ballots for hours Saturday on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage because voting machines had not been delivered to polling places, a state official said.
At least 59 precincts did not have voting machines when polls opened at 6 a.m. because officials with New Orleans' clerk of court's office failed to meet drivers who tried to deliver the machines earlier that morning, said Frances Sims, the state director of elections.
Secretary of State Fox McKeithen and workers in his office delivered the machines from a warehouse by noon, Fox spokesman Scott Madere said. He said New Orleans was the only city to experience the problem. It wasn't clear how many voters were affected.
Read More >>
17 September 2004
Independent Election Observer Team Arrives in US
Jim Lobe - September 17, 2004
WASHINGTON - A team of 20 independent democracy experts from 15 countries and five continents has arrived in the United States in order to observe this year's presidential election campaign.
The election monitors, who have been brought here by the San Francisco activist group "Global Exchange," will be fanning out in the coming days initially to research how the election preparations are being conducted in five states. They will then return just before the actual polling November 2.
The five states include Florida, Ohio, Arizona, Missouri, and Georgia. According to Global Exchange, Florida was selected due to the controversy that erupted there in the 2000 elections; Georgia because it is one of only two states where voters will use only touch-screen voting machines.
Arizona was picked because elections there are publicly financed, while Missouri was the scene of widespread reports of Republican efforts to suppress the black vote in 2000. Ohio was also of interest because it is expected to be one of the most hotly contested battleground states in this year's election.
[...] The Global Exchange group, which hopes to meet with local and state election authorities, as well as with civic groups that are also involved in getting out the vote and ensuring a fair election, is not the only international team that will be observing the November elections.
The State Department last month formally invited an observer delegation from the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a 55-nation body that encourages all member countries to observe each others' elections.
State Department officials stressed that the OSCE delegation will not have the authority to assess the fairness of the vote, but it will be expected to issue a report on any problems or shortcomings as part of a new program for all OSCE members.
That invitation drew praise from more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers who had asked UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to dispatch observers to the November elections earlier this summer.
Read More >>
Jim Lobe - September 17, 2004
WASHINGTON - A team of 20 independent democracy experts from 15 countries and five continents has arrived in the United States in order to observe this year's presidential election campaign.
The election monitors, who have been brought here by the San Francisco activist group "Global Exchange," will be fanning out in the coming days initially to research how the election preparations are being conducted in five states. They will then return just before the actual polling November 2.
The five states include Florida, Ohio, Arizona, Missouri, and Georgia. According to Global Exchange, Florida was selected due to the controversy that erupted there in the 2000 elections; Georgia because it is one of only two states where voters will use only touch-screen voting machines.
Arizona was picked because elections there are publicly financed, while Missouri was the scene of widespread reports of Republican efforts to suppress the black vote in 2000. Ohio was also of interest because it is expected to be one of the most hotly contested battleground states in this year's election.
[...] The Global Exchange group, which hopes to meet with local and state election authorities, as well as with civic groups that are also involved in getting out the vote and ensuring a fair election, is not the only international team that will be observing the November elections.
The State Department last month formally invited an observer delegation from the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a 55-nation body that encourages all member countries to observe each others' elections.
State Department officials stressed that the OSCE delegation will not have the authority to assess the fairness of the vote, but it will be expected to issue a report on any problems or shortcomings as part of a new program for all OSCE members.
That invitation drew praise from more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers who had asked UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to dispatch observers to the November elections earlier this summer.
Read More >>
GOP Mailing Warns Liberals Will Ban Bibles
Will Lester - AP - Sept 17, 2004
WASHINGTON - Campaign mail with a return address of the Republican National Committee warns West Virginia voters that the Bible will be prohibited and men will marry men if liberals win in November.
The literature shows a Bible with the word "BANNED" across it and a photo of a man, on his knees, placing a ring on the hand of another man with the word "ALLOWED." The mailing tells West Virginians to "vote Republican to protect our families" and defeat the "liberal agenda."
Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie said Friday that he wasn't aware of the mailing, but said it could be the work of the RNC. "It wouldn't surprise me if we were mailing voters on the issue of same-sex marriage," Gillespie said.
[...] Jim Jordan, a spokesman for American Coming Together, described the mailing as "standard-issue Republican hate-mongering."
Read More >>
Will Lester - AP - Sept 17, 2004
WASHINGTON - Campaign mail with a return address of the Republican National Committee warns West Virginia voters that the Bible will be prohibited and men will marry men if liberals win in November.
The literature shows a Bible with the word "BANNED" across it and a photo of a man, on his knees, placing a ring on the hand of another man with the word "ALLOWED." The mailing tells West Virginians to "vote Republican to protect our families" and defeat the "liberal agenda."
Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie said Friday that he wasn't aware of the mailing, but said it could be the work of the RNC. "It wouldn't surprise me if we were mailing voters on the issue of same-sex marriage," Gillespie said.
[...] Jim Jordan, a spokesman for American Coming Together, described the mailing as "standard-issue Republican hate-mongering."
Read More >>
14 September 2004
Black Media Warns Of Sequel to 2000 Florida Fiasco
Danielle Worthy - Pacific News Service - 09-14-04
On Election Day 2004, everyone’s attention will turn toward Florida — the quintessential battleground state which marred the reputation of the electoral system for many voters, especially blacks. But months before the actual casting of ballots, the black media have been reporting that Florida already is embroiled in an electoral controversy rooted in discrimination.
When the Miami Herald broke the story this July of a flawed felon list that mistakenly included a large number of eligible black voters, the state was propelled back into immediate notoriety.
The “newsworthiness” of the story faded in and out for mainstream media but African American publications have steadfastly tracked each emerging detail. For black voters, the implications are too important to ignore.
Read More >>
Danielle Worthy - Pacific News Service - 09-14-04
On Election Day 2004, everyone’s attention will turn toward Florida — the quintessential battleground state which marred the reputation of the electoral system for many voters, especially blacks. But months before the actual casting of ballots, the black media have been reporting that Florida already is embroiled in an electoral controversy rooted in discrimination.
When the Miami Herald broke the story this July of a flawed felon list that mistakenly included a large number of eligible black voters, the state was propelled back into immediate notoriety.
The “newsworthiness” of the story faded in and out for mainstream media but African American publications have steadfastly tracked each emerging detail. For black voters, the implications are too important to ignore.
Read More >>
State to notify felons that they can vote in November
Sep. 14, 2004
CLEVELAND - The state has agreed to inform 34,000 felons on parole and probation that they are allowed to vote in the November election to settle a lawsuit against elections officials around Ohio.
The lawsuit filed last month by prisoner-rights advocates accused elections officials in 21 counties of giving misleading information about felons' voting rights.
Testers identifying themselves as felons telephoned elections officials in all 88 Ohio counties to ask how they could register to vote, said David Singleton, an attorney for the Prison Reform Advocacy Center.
In Ohio, felons can vote as long as they are no longer in prison.
But the suit alleges that some election offices inaccurately told testers that felons couldn't vote until after their probation or parole ended.
Read More >>
Sep. 14, 2004
CLEVELAND - The state has agreed to inform 34,000 felons on parole and probation that they are allowed to vote in the November election to settle a lawsuit against elections officials around Ohio.
The lawsuit filed last month by prisoner-rights advocates accused elections officials in 21 counties of giving misleading information about felons' voting rights.
Testers identifying themselves as felons telephoned elections officials in all 88 Ohio counties to ask how they could register to vote, said David Singleton, an attorney for the Prison Reform Advocacy Center.
In Ohio, felons can vote as long as they are no longer in prison.
But the suit alleges that some election offices inaccurately told testers that felons couldn't vote until after their probation or parole ended.
Read More >>
13 September 2004
"Keep the following number handy: 1-866-OUR-VOTE"
In today's New York Times, columnist Bob Herbert writes about the looming threat of voter suppression and intimidation in the 2004 election, and the critical role of Election Protection in the fight against these threats.
There are endless stories of attempts to discourage blacks from voting. Few get substantial publicity, so this is not seen as a big national problem. It deserves a brighter spotlight. When duly registered blacks are improperly challenged at the polls, or Florida tries to use a patently discriminatory voter felons list, or black votes are criminally tampered with or simply not counted at all - something should be done.
The number to call is 1-866-OUR VOTE.
Read the full article here >>
In today's New York Times, columnist Bob Herbert writes about the looming threat of voter suppression and intimidation in the 2004 election, and the critical role of Election Protection in the fight against these threats.
There are endless stories of attempts to discourage blacks from voting. Few get substantial publicity, so this is not seen as a big national problem. It deserves a brighter spotlight. When duly registered blacks are improperly challenged at the polls, or Florida tries to use a patently discriminatory voter felons list, or black votes are criminally tampered with or simply not counted at all - something should be done.
The number to call is 1-866-OUR VOTE.
Read the full article here >>
Florida OK's Nader's Name on Election Ballot
Jim Loney - Sep 13, 2004
MIAMI (Reuters) - Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader's name can appear on Florida ballots for the election, despite a court order to the contrary, Florida's elections chief told officials on Monday in a move that could help President Bush in the key swing state.
The Florida Democratic Party reacted with outrage, calling the move "blatant partisan maneuvering" by Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's younger brother, and vowed to fight it.
Read More >>
Jim Loney - Sep 13, 2004
MIAMI (Reuters) - Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader's name can appear on Florida ballots for the election, despite a court order to the contrary, Florida's elections chief told officials on Monday in a move that could help President Bush in the key swing state.
The Florida Democratic Party reacted with outrage, calling the move "blatant partisan maneuvering" by Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's younger brother, and vowed to fight it.
Read More >>
Md. Senator Casts Vote for Paper Ballots
Stephen Manning - AP - Sept 13, 2004
ROCKVILLE, Md. - Sen. Barbara Mikulski added her name Monday to a bill that would require electronic voting machines to produce a paper record of ballots, just one day after a machine she tested at a local festival produced an erroneous result.
The Maryland Democrat signed on as a co-sponsor to legislation filed by Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, Mikulski aide Michael Morrill said. Graham's bill was introduced in April in response to fears that electronic voting machines used nationwide are subject to human error, could fail or be tampered with.
Mikulski got a firsthand look at possible voting mistakes when she tried out an AccuVote TS touch screen machine Sunday at a folk festival in Takoma Park.
Maryland was one of the first states in the country to implement touch-screen voting, spending $55 million on the program. Elections officials said there were few problems with the machines during the March primary.
But as Mikulski voted on a mock referendum question, her hand inadvertently grazed the screen and cast a "yes" vote for another mock question, according to Morrill, who stood next to her as she tested the machine.
Mikulski, who had planned to vote "no" on the question, tried to push the "no" button to change her vote, but the machine didn't make the change. She eventually was able to correct the ballot.
Read More >>
Stephen Manning - AP - Sept 13, 2004
ROCKVILLE, Md. - Sen. Barbara Mikulski added her name Monday to a bill that would require electronic voting machines to produce a paper record of ballots, just one day after a machine she tested at a local festival produced an erroneous result.
The Maryland Democrat signed on as a co-sponsor to legislation filed by Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, Mikulski aide Michael Morrill said. Graham's bill was introduced in April in response to fears that electronic voting machines used nationwide are subject to human error, could fail or be tampered with.
Mikulski got a firsthand look at possible voting mistakes when she tried out an AccuVote TS touch screen machine Sunday at a folk festival in Takoma Park.
Maryland was one of the first states in the country to implement touch-screen voting, spending $55 million on the program. Elections officials said there were few problems with the machines during the March primary.
But as Mikulski voted on a mock referendum question, her hand inadvertently grazed the screen and cast a "yes" vote for another mock question, according to Morrill, who stood next to her as she tested the machine.
Mikulski, who had planned to vote "no" on the question, tried to push the "no" button to change her vote, but the machine didn't make the change. She eventually was able to correct the ballot.
Read More >>
12 September 2004
On the Voting Machine Makers' Tab
September 12, 2004
As doubts have grown about the reliability of electronic voting, some of its loudest defenders have been state and local election officials. Many of those same officials have financial ties to voting machine companies. While they may sincerely think that electronic voting machines are so trustworthy that there is no need for a paper record of votes, their views have to be regarded with suspicion until their conflicts are addressed.
Read More >>
September 12, 2004
As doubts have grown about the reliability of electronic voting, some of its loudest defenders have been state and local election officials. Many of those same officials have financial ties to voting machine companies. While they may sincerely think that electronic voting machines are so trustworthy that there is no need for a paper record of votes, their views have to be regarded with suspicion until their conflicts are addressed.
Read More >>
07 September 2004
Voter ID Problems in Florida
The New York Times - September 7, 2004
There is no excuse for turning away eligible voters at the polls, but that is what apparently happened in Florida's primary elections last week. Under Florida law, registered voters can vote without showing identification...
In Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, poll watchers from People for the American Way saw voters being turned away after being told about half the law - the photo-identification requirement - but not the other half, the affidavit option. In some cases, said Elliot Mincberg, legal director of People for the American Way, poll workers insisted on identification even when they were shown voting-rights leaflets citing the state election law. Some people may never have cast ballots because they were not informed that they had the option to file affidavits...
In the weeks leading up to Nov. 2, we will hear many times that all Americans should exercise their right to vote. Election officials have an obligation to do everything they can to ensure that when citizens show up, misapplied voter-identification rules do not prevent them from casting a ballot.
Read More >>
The New York Times - September 7, 2004
There is no excuse for turning away eligible voters at the polls, but that is what apparently happened in Florida's primary elections last week. Under Florida law, registered voters can vote without showing identification...
In Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, poll watchers from People for the American Way saw voters being turned away after being told about half the law - the photo-identification requirement - but not the other half, the affidavit option. In some cases, said Elliot Mincberg, legal director of People for the American Way, poll workers insisted on identification even when they were shown voting-rights leaflets citing the state election law. Some people may never have cast ballots because they were not informed that they had the option to file affidavits...
In the weeks leading up to Nov. 2, we will hear many times that all Americans should exercise their right to vote. Election officials have an obligation to do everything they can to ensure that when citizens show up, misapplied voter-identification rules do not prevent them from casting a ballot.
Read More >>
More Voter Problems in Florida
During the August 31st primary, at polling places across Florida, Election Protection volunteers were called upon time and again to help ensure voters their right to vote.
Fortunately for Florida's voters, hundreds of Election Protection volunteers, including more than 75 lawyers and law students, were on hand to track voter problems and provide immediate help in 60 targeted precincts.
While we found scattered problems during the Florida primary, history tells us that the general election in November is when voters face the greatest risk of intimidation and disenfranchisement. That's when our forces will be needed most to protect voters' rights.
This November, with your help and support, Election Protection will deploy 25,000 volunteer poll monitors in some 17 states where minority voters are most at risk.
Election Protection is the nation's single largest and most far-reaching effort to protect voter rights EVER!
We need your help. Please sign up to be an Election Protection volunteer and consider making a generous tax-deductible contribution today.
Thank you,
Mary Jean Collins
National Field Director
People For the American Way Foundation
Become an Election Protection volunteer >>
Support Election Protection with a contribution >>
During the August 31st primary, at polling places across Florida, Election Protection volunteers were called upon time and again to help ensure voters their right to vote.
Fortunately for Florida's voters, hundreds of Election Protection volunteers, including more than 75 lawyers and law students, were on hand to track voter problems and provide immediate help in 60 targeted precincts.
While we found scattered problems during the Florida primary, history tells us that the general election in November is when voters face the greatest risk of intimidation and disenfranchisement. That's when our forces will be needed most to protect voters' rights.
This November, with your help and support, Election Protection will deploy 25,000 volunteer poll monitors in some 17 states where minority voters are most at risk.
Election Protection is the nation's single largest and most far-reaching effort to protect voter rights EVER!
We need your help. Please sign up to be an Election Protection volunteer and consider making a generous tax-deductible contribution today.
Thank you,
Mary Jean Collins
National Field Director
People For the American Way Foundation
Become an Election Protection volunteer >>
Support Election Protection with a contribution >>
New York Times Editorial Highlights ID Problems at the Polls Encountered by Election Protection Workers
Read More >>
Election Protection staff and volunteers working in the August 31 Florida Primary encountered polling places at which some voters were turned away because of a lack of identification. Thankfully, where the Election Protection program was present, measures were taken to ensure that such voters were able to cast a ballot -- as Florida law allows. Today, the New York Times has published an editorial highlighting this ID problem and how it must be addressed.
Read More >>
Read More >>
Read More >>
Election Protection staff and volunteers working in the August 31 Florida Primary encountered polling places at which some voters were turned away because of a lack of identification. Thankfully, where the Election Protection program was present, measures were taken to ensure that such voters were able to cast a ballot -- as Florida law allows. Today, the New York Times has published an editorial highlighting this ID problem and how it must be addressed.
Read More >>
Read More >>
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