Electoral Issues :
Integrity of Electoral Process
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Gerrymandering of electoral districts, intimidation of voters, campaign practices of deception and mud-slinging. Integrity of voting machines as a means of properly determining the outcomes of elections; malfunctioning and hacking possibilities and actual experiences with skewed outcomes using voting machines.
11/3/08 Tomorrow's election: Be careful what you wish for...:. A pair of dreams of election supervisors and electoral reformers are to be tested out at the polls. High voter turnout (promoted by supervisors) and optically scanned paper ballots and new identification requirements (promoted by reformers) may combine to produce a new and troubling situation at the polls, as "low-tech" machine breakdowns and a rash of "provisional ballots" could significantly delay the reporting if not alter the outcomes of some elections http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/us/politics/03voting.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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Analysis & views: 2/19/08 Pakistan's Attorney General is "providentially" taped as saying that national elections will be "massively rigged," fanning public fears that just this will happen. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41229 1/24/08 When an election protest gets "serious" Extended opposition protests in the wake of Kenya's national elections have caused Kenyan trade, on which people of many other countries of the region depend, to grind to a near-halt. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0124/p04s01-woaf.html 1/18/08 Kenyan election protesters, in a strategy change, are moving from rallies to boycotts as their protest weapon on choice. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7195307.stm 1/16/08 Rallies protesting Kenyan election results draw warning shots from police. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7190777.stm 1/7/08 Opposition leader in Kenya's disputed elections calls off planned protests, counts on "international mediation" to settle the conflict http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7174670.stm 1/6/08 Quarter million Kenyans awaiting humanitarian aid as refugees after rioting following recent election. 1/2/08 Post-election violence continues in Kenya. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4D0C325C-2170-4E0B-BB34-AEAEACF6DE64.htm 12/30/07 Apparent electoral victory of opposition leader in Kenya is accompanied by refusal of current leader to concede defeat, widespread protest and charges of electoral irregularities. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7164728.stm 10/17/07 Alleged vote buying by both government and opposition parties is being alleged in advance of Kenya's elections later this year http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2203656,00.html 8/17/07 Ukrainian electoral commission reverses itself and will allow opposition party candidates on ballot for upcoming parliamentary elections. http://www.kyivpost.com/top/27221/ 7/20/07 Following international protest (including tepid one from U.S.) Ethiopian PM announces the government will pardon life sentences against those who protested against the country's elections. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6908039.stm 7/9/07 Ethiopian prosecutor seeks death penalty for 38 opposition leaders who protested an allegedly rigged election, saying their action was aimed at "bringing down the government. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6283324.stm 7/2/07 A year after his contested defeat in Mexico's presidential election, Lopez Obrador continues to travel around the country promoting his protest of the election. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6259910.stm 4/28/07 Turkish election which pits Islamist and secularist candidates raises issue of interference by military, which vows to protect Turkey's secularist tradition; EU warns Turkish military against interference. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6602661.stm 8/10/06 Protest of Mexican election results takes new form as demonstrators block access to foreign-owned banks in effort to force a full vote count. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/080906S.shtml 8/6/06 Mexico City in turmoil with massive demonstrations against ruling of an elections tribunal that grants recounts in less than 10% of the country's polling stations. Lopez Obrador advisers say privately that he has little chance of prevailing in this limited recount. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/05/AR2006080500228.html?referrer=email 8/3/06 As Lopez Obrador supporters continue mass demonstrations against result of Mexican election, evidence continues to accumulate that the election was rigged to secure a Calderon victory. http://www.alternet.org/story/39763/ 7/17/06 Lopez Obrador urges acts of "peaceful civic resistance" of his followers to force a recount of the Mexican election; leaves it to each individual to define those acts http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/16/AR2006071600367.html?sub=AR 7/15/06 Mexican election is Florida and Ohio deja vu all over again, with one big difference: the supposed "loser" stands on the steps of the country's "White House" and demands, along with millions of his followers, that the government "count the vote," and, miracle of miracles, that may happen. http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0714-20.htm 7/13/06 Florida con salsa: Greg Palast is interviewed by Democracy Now! on his investigation of vote fraud in the Mexican election. http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/12/146201 7/13/06 Narco News Bulletin, in a special feature on electoral fraud in Mexico says results of the election will come undone and Lopez Obrador will be next President: http://www.narconews.com/Issue42/article1972.html 7/9/06 Declared loser in last Sunday's Mexican Presidential election, Lopez Obrador, is contesting the result with a combination of strategies of legal challenges and massive protest rallies, calling his defeat a "moral impossibility." Electoral court may not decide the issue before September 6. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/08/AR2006070801010.html?referrer=email 7/7/06 The "stealing" of the Mexico election started long before election day, with numerous "dirty tricks" against candidate Obrador, and with illegal interventions by President Vicente Fox; the election was a "fraud foretold." http://counterpunch.org/ross07072006.html 7/6/06 Its nip and tuck as vote recount continues in Mexico. Last night, nip (Obrador) had a razor thin lead, today tuck (Calderon) has a similar lead. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/06/world/americas/06mexico.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin 7/5/06 Was Mexico's election "stolen?" A roundtable discussion of correspondents on Democracy Now. http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/05/1329233 7/4/06 South of the Border's gringo deja vu: conservative candidate for Mexican President claims victory, populist candidate prepares to challenge that claim. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14959978.htm 7/3/06 As Mexico's election stands officially as "too close to call," Greg Palast points out that there's a plan to "steal" the election using some of the techniques and the ChoicePoint organization that were used in the 2004 U.S. election. The GOP branch of National Endowment for Democracy is spearheading the effort: http://www.gregpalast.com/stealing-mexico 4/11/06 Nigeria rejects electronic voting: http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=04/11/2006&qrTitle=Column=NATION 4/5/06 Electronic voting debuts in Italy to widespread protest and distrust: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/04/news/rome.php
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Websites Black Box Voting: Consumer protections for elections. http://www.blackboxvoting.org/ Fair Vote: Verified Voting: http://www.verifiedvoting.org/
Analysis & views: 11/3/08 Tomorrow's election: Be careful what you wish for...:. A pair of dreams of election supervisors and electoral reformers are to be tested out at the polls. High voter turnout (promoted by supervisors) and optically scanned paper ballots and new identification requirements (promoted by reformers) may combine to produce a new and troubling situation at the polls, as "low-tech" machine breakdowns and a rash of "provisional ballots" could significantly delay the reporting if not alter the outcomes of some elections http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/us/politics/03voting.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 10/10/08 New York Times survey finds that, across the U.S. but especially in "swing states," election officials are removing people from the registration rolls at twice the rate that new ones are being added. The Times says that many of these actions "appear" to violate federal law, with an emphasis on the alleged over-use of a Social Security Administration "database" to eliminate from the rolls those voters whose registration information does not match that found on SSA rolls. The Times suggests most of these actions are mistakes, not a matter of electoral manipulation, but that, mistake or by design, they disproportionately handicap the Democratic Party, whose registrants make up the majority of the new registrations. 9/26/08 Maryland voters assured by elections officials that their loss of homes by mortgage foreclosure will be no bar to their voting in November elections. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.briefs261sep26,0,1678664.story 4/24/08 Did Rudh Limbaugh succeed in his "operation chaos" scheme to manipulate results of Pennsylvania Democratic primary? Nation columnist John Nichols says no, several entries on comments section of the Common Dreams reprint of his article (including a spot of numbers-crunching by the editor of The Sun State Activis) say maybe RL did in fact succeed in helping Hillary Clinton to "stay in the race" to prolong the intraparty strife in the Democratic party to the benefit of the Republican candidate. http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/23/8483/ 4/24/08 John McCain asks North Carolina GOP to pull an ad featuring Barak Obama's association with Jeremiah Wright ahead of that state's primary election. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20080424_McCain_asks_GOP_to_pull_ad.html 4/23/08 As Clinton wins PA, Republicans continue to smack their lips over the "bruising" Clinton and Obama are inflicting on one another: While Obama still appears to have the inside track on the nomination, Clinton's 10% margin in the race encourages her to continue the campaign; 20% of her supporters say they would not support Obama against McCain in November, and the Republican Party itself is reported to be putting some more "blood" on Obama by publishing ads in Indiana ahead of its May 6 primary that will appeal to the "white vote" by hammering away at Obama's connections with Jeremiah Wright. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/us/politics/23assess.html?th&emc=th 4/23/08 "Limbaugh effect" in PA Democratic primary: 1 in 9 voters changed their registration before the election and most of those voted for Clinton. http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1126&u_mod=&u_sid=10233069 3/20/08 Progressives in the election trenches are seeking seats in Congress: One of them is Mary Pallant, competing for a seat in California's 24th congressional district, which embraces portions of Venturas and Santa Barbara Counties. Her opponent is a long-time conservative rubber stamper for the Bush administration. Her website displays some positions that the Democratic presidential candidates might do well to emulate. 3/19/08 Supreme Court approves Washington state's proposed "Top Two" electoral system which seems to eliminate the ability of parties to determine their own nominations for general elections, making the "top two" candidates in "primary" elections, regardless of party, those who will face off in general elections. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/355564_scotus19.html 3/18/08 Florida Democratic Party throws in the towel on plans for a mail-in re-vote for primary election:. To salvage any "voice" in the party's national convention, state Democrats must now rely on a "deal" between Obama and Clinton; or else as appeal to the rules and by-laws committee of the DNC to overturn or modify its sanction against seating already-selected delegates. http://www.miamiherald.com/889/story/460061.html 3/14/08 Florida Democratic mail-in vote on life support. Less than a day after the party announced a plan for a revote of its January 29 primary, opposition to it is coming from all sides, largely based on problem of verification of signatures and the legal problems of such an approach. The words on the epitaph on a child's tombstone might be invoked: "If I was so soon to be done for, it wonder what I was begun for." http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/456001.html 3/13/08 Obama and Clinton sqaure off on question of whether Florida should conduct a re-vote...and (surprise!) their positions reflect their personal interests in the outcome. Clinton supports a revote (or a ratification of the original results) that could result in a gain for her in convention delegates; Obama opposes because it would give "advantage" to one candidate. The Florida Democratic Party is slated to announce its plan on the matter today or tomorrow. By the way, does anybody remember Mike Gravel? http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/president/orl-dems1308mar13,0,6380299.story 3/12/08 Taking his cue from Rush Limbaugh, who urged his Republican friends in Texas to vote for Hillary Clinton in the Texas Democratic primary, Jerry Rose observes the strong possibility that there will be further and probably deeper intrusions of Republicans on the outcome of the remaining Democratic primaries, most notably Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana. Rather than attributing this to Republican duplicity, Rose suggests that just such intrusions may occur between primaries of the two parties, given the way primaries are scheduled and primary voting is regulated in our electoral system. While the horse may already have left through the open barn gate for this election season, in politics as in sports there's "always another season" and Rose advocates for structural reforms like a national primary day and the banning of "open" primaries that can keep our horses in the barn (in their own primary contests) in the seasons to come. (Please consider posting a comment on this website.) 3/4/08 The "rigging" of U.S. elections: It's about more than superdelegates at the Democratic convention:. The electoral system is profoundly advantageous to the electoral chances of the wealthy, the incumbent, the charismatic and the member of one of the two major parties. This suggests that the current flap about the "undemocratic" practice of having people at a convention not chosen at primaries and caucuses may be a diversion from the more fundamental riggings in the U.S. political system. Further, it is argued, there may be an advantage to true democracy of having uncommitted delegates who are amenable to the debate and deliberation that is supposed to be characteristic of conventions as well as legislative bodies: a check on "the tyranny of the majority," http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/03/lets-call-american-elections-what-they-are-rigged/ 3/4/08 One superdelegate less for Hillary Clinton as former Governor of Maine is disqualified because he lives in Florida, a state sanctioned by DNC for its early primary. http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=161108&zoneid=500 2/26/08 What's a progressive to do in '08 elections? Article in Dissent Voice on the supposed political demise of Dennis Kucinich provokes a string of comments of 08 electoral strategies and the political future beyond in which Sun State Activist editor is a contributor (3 time so far). http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/02/dennis-goes-down/ 2/21/08 Super-delegates and non-delegates. Editor of Sun State Activist takes both Clinton and Obama campaigns to task for efforts to the "game" the system, by direct appeals by Obama followers to super-delegates to vote as "the people" voted; or to try to reclaim for Clinton the Michigan and Florida delegates chosen in states in which all candidates agreed to refrain from campaigning. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jerry_d__080218_games_that_democrats.htm 2/20/08 Super-delegates are super pain for Democratic party:. Two entries on one day's postings on Common Dreams advocate for the reining in of the possible power of unelected (ex-officio) delegates to the Party's convention to determine the presidential nominee. One is by an American, Paul Rockwell; another is by a Briton, Gary Younge. The extended "comments" on both articles demonstrate that Americans (and Britons) are far from being of one mind on the issue as Common Dreams seems to be. Rockwell's article and comments: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/18/7117/ YOUNGE'S ARTICLE AND COMMENTS, CD REPRINT http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/18/7115/ COMMENTS ON GUARDIAN/UK VERSION: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/feb/18/hillaryclinton.barackobama 2/10/08 How the Democrait Party deals with mavericks. In 2006, rather than support maverick Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, it supported a primary candidate who defeated her. In 2008, there are indications that the party leadership is similarly working toward the defeat in his home district of the maverick former presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich, perhaps a "message" giving maneuver to other potential dissident elements like John Conyers Jr. and the "Out of Iraq Caucus." Kevin Zeese joins the ranks of other wishful thinkers in anticipating that these exercises in party discipline might drive mavericks like Kucinich out of the party and into the embrace of the Green Party for whose presidential nomination McKinney is already contending. http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/02/is-dennis-kucinich-getting-mckinney%e2%80%99d/ 2/6/08 Big turnout and return to paper ballot by a third of California's counties may delay final tally on yesterday's presidential primaries, apparently won by Clinton and McCain. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020508C.shtml 1/28/08 New York Times columnist Gail Collins adopts the superior attitude of her paper ("all the news that's fit to print") and makes light of all the "fringe" presidential candidates, taking off on the "you gotta be kidding" 240 people who supported Mike Gravel in the South Carolina primary. She would dismiss, as have the media, all those candidates who have not raised millions of dollars by the time of the Iowa caucuses. Of course her most bitter remarks are reserved for Dennis Kucinich, who "inserted himself" into 37 presidential debates (?) and then whined and went to court when excluded from the big recent ones. http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/beyond-the-fringe/ 1/16/08 Political kumbaya in Vegas. "Civility, articulation and agreement:" LV Sun columnists' description of the Democratic "debate" last night, as candidates put aside the harsh "rhetoric" on race and gender that has afflicted their debates and focussed on a level of discourse that will not "hurt" one of the three of them when he/she goes up against the Republicans. What these columnists left unsaid was that this love-fest was accomplished only by NBC's exclusion of a previously-invited Dennis Kucinich who would no doubt have persisted in raising some troubling issues about public policy http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jan/16/debate-placeholder-head/ 1/12/08 Kucinich campaign calls for recount of New Hampshire primary ; election activists warn of a "trap." Discrepancy between opinion poll and election results produces questions from election "experts" about the integrity of the election. Some advocates of election procedure reform like Bev Harris argue that the Diebold electronic machine company may have lured the protesters in a "trap" that will result in validation of suspect Diebold equipment. http://www.alternet.org/story/73551/?page=2 THE "TRAP" ARGUMENT: http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2008/011108_kucinich_backs.htm 1/10/08 Federal Elections Commission, with 4 vacanies in its 6 seats, is largely sidelined from any effective watchdog role in the current election season. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0109/p01s04-uspo.html 1/9/08 Supreme Court takes up case concerning Indiana law requiring photo identification in order to vote. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0109/p02s01-usju.html 1/2/08 Ohio and California election officials have found critical flaws in electronic voting machines. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010108L.shtml 12/20/07 Fall guy in 2002 New Hampshire GOP vote-rigging scheme writes his tell-all book:Allen Raymond, convicted of corrupt campaign practices in the election of GOP Senator John Sununu says, in a book to be published next month and for which McClathcy Newspapers obtained an advance copy, that the dirty tricks of that campaign had the full blessing and approval of people at high levels of the national GOP campaign to retain control of the Senate. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/23357.html 12/15/07 Pre-emptie dirty trickserism is used in Hillary Clinton's campaign against Barack Obama. A Clinton operative, Bill Shaheen, engages in a stealth attack on Clinton's rising opponent, raising a question about Obama's "electability" if Republican dirty tricksters ever started raising questions about Obama's self-admitted former experimental drug uses. (Those GOP rascals might ask questions like "Did you ever sell it?") By attributing such intentions to the Republican opposition, Shaheen apparently hopes to stave off Clinton's primary challenger http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=259779 12/8/07 Sean Penn gets folks to talking on the internet: The actor makes an impassioned plea on behalf of Dennis Kucinich for President and Common Dreams opens its "comments" forum to a flood of responses, pro and con to Penn's advocacy, and the issue of "electability" versus "delectability" ("I love Dennis but...") keeps coming up http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/12/07/5692/ 12/2/07 DNC brings down the hammer on Michigan as it did Florida, stripping the state of convention delegates as punishment for advancing its presidential primary. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120107B.shtml 8/17/07 An "odd sort of mirror-image resonances" ...says a law professor and former civil rights attorney with the Justice Department of the political situation in a Mississippi county. In this county, blacks are decisively in the majority, and the black-dominated Democratic Party is accused of electoral discrimination against whites, most of them Republicans. In their fight for voting equality, the whites are supported by the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0817/p01s05-usju.html 7/29/07 Testing by computer experts at University of California shows that all of that state's voting machines are vulnerable to hacking: While they demonstrate the possibility of such manipulation, they leave open the question of its feasibility, as the experts had access to state-of-the-art computer equipment not necessarily available to the wild-eyed geek in his parents' basement. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/28/MNGP6R8TJO1.DTL&type=printable 6/20/07 Michael Collins: There's something very fishy about the results of the 2004 Presidential election. Bush won re-election despite a substantial decline in voting in his "rural base," leading election night pollsters to predict a Kerry win. Unaccountably, as final vote totals were recorded, there was an increase in voting turnout of 80% of white voters in large cities, although the Bush campaign was pitched toward its base and was noticeably urban-shy, and even though studies of individual cities showed nothing like such a turnout increase. Without getting into any specific evidence of tampering in the vote count, Collins leaves the clear implication that voting results were manipulated and that an "urban legend" of Bush doing stunningly well in big cities was created to cover the fact of the manipulation. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=5998 6/20/07 Democrats want Justice Department to investigate charges of "caging" African-American votes in Jacksonville, FL. This comes out of the investigation of fired U.S. Attorneys, one of whom was replaced by a GOP operative who, according to e-mails made available on Greg Palast's website, presided over a 2004 scheme to disenfranchise some 2,000 voters by sending them registered letters with campaign materials with a view to rescinding the voter registrations of those which came back "return to sender." These were targeted to areas with anticipated high concentration of Kerry voters. http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/06/19/1980 FOR PALAST'S WEBSITE ON THIS ISSUE, SEE: http://www.gregpalast.com/the-goods-on-goodling-and-the-keys-to-the-kingdom/ 6/19/07 The Ohio election debacle of '04 and the firing of U.S. attorneys; What's the connection? Bob Fitrakis connects the dots in detailing the career of one Mark Hearne, a long-time GOP operative who graduated from helping intimidate recount workers in Florida in 2000 to the filing in 04 a series of "voter fraud" cases entered in Ohio and elsewhere designed to discourage voter registration and voting by the poor and by blacks to attempting to pressure U.S. attorneys to investigate such spurious allegations and lobbying for the firing of the reluctant ones. In all these activities he was abetted by "civil rights" organizations like the Center for Voting Rights and Free Enterprise Coalition that were funded by the Republican Party and which have disappeared from the public arena as fast as they appeared around the 04 election. http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2007/1555 4/11/07 Battle of the election fraud panels:. A new report of a federal election commission disputes an earlier congressional one on the pervasiveness of voter fraud, as issue is joined between illegal voting and the selective effects of voter identification systems on turnout of votes favorable to Republicans or Democrats. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/washington/11voters.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin 4/5/07 Christian Science Monitor article details the big push in the Justice Department to prosecute cases of vote buying and other fraudulent practices, part of a GOP political agenda of making a big public case for Democrats' use of these "traditional" petty corruptions. Critics say these frauds, whose prosecution some of the fired Attorneys were reluctant to pursue, were miniscule in comparison with election frauds like the provision of inadequate voting facilitities in Democratic voter strongholds. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0405/p02s01-uspo.html?page=1 3/22/07 Get out of jail free: GOP New Hampshire official convicted and sentenced to prison for a "phone-jamming" project that helped re-elect a Republican Senator has his conviction overturned by a federal appeals court. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_Phone_Jamming.htmlhttp://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_Phone_Jamming.html 3/20/07 Election fraud and voter fraud; big difference. Voter fraud puts the onus of electoral irregularity on voters, "dead men and felons," while election fraud focuses on the manipulation of electoral results by election officials. The distinction may explain the firing of some U.S. attorneys who were unwilling to cooperate with the GOP agenda of voter fraud investigations to help divert attention from the election frauds that may have subverted the 2000 and 2004 elections. http://www.legitgov.org/comment/rec_report_140307.html 1/5/07 Republican Vern Buchanan from Sarasota FL is provisionally seated in Congress pending outcome of the election that sent him there. 1/4/07 Elections Assistance Commission bars testing of voting machines by a company which EAC says does not have adequate safeguards on its testing procedures. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/04/washington/04voting.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ei=homepage 12/17/06 Admitting the inadequacy of its preparation for 06 elections,. city of Boston agrees to go under the supervision of the state through the 08 elections. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/12/16/city_polls_put_under_oversight_of_state/ 11/30/06 National Institute of Standards and Technology expected to recommend elimination of electronic voting machines without paper trails; but an expert warns that paper ballot systems are mostly a "placebo" that gives voters a sense of protection of their ballot without actually doing so. http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3646231 11/27/06 When Dianne Feinstein in January takes over chairmanship of Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, she expects to hold wide-ranging hearings on paper ballot voting and other matters of electoral irregularity. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/16101724.htm 11/21/06 Operator error (by poll workers) not (voting) machine failure is blamed for massive glitch in Utah County (Provo) on last election day. http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650208861,00.html 11/16/06 Bill introduced in the House requiring paper trail for all electronic voting machines. The legislation, "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act,' has 221 co-sponsors, with 219 votes required for House approval. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061115/ap_on_go_co/electronic_voting 11/9/06 Who won that election Tuesday? It may not be just a matter of Ds and Rs on a blue-and-red tote board, but of the political operatives in both parties who orchestrated a "centrist" outcome. Electoral expert Bev Harris fears that the apparent "victory" of the Blues will lead to a move-on mentality as exemplified by Nancy Pelosi in preparation for the "real" electoral coup planned for 2008. http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2006/091106electionthrown.htm 11/9/06 Boston was not prepared with sufficient ballots for large turnout at Tuesday's election, and Massachusetts Secretary of State responds by saying he will seize control of a system with chronic problems. 11/6/06 A reliable election day prediction: one side will win, the other will claim election fraud. http://www.capitolhillblue.com/news2/2006/11/one_side_will_w.html 11/6/06 In New Mexico, Democrats claim and Republicans deny that GOP operatives are calling voters with incorrect information about their polling places. http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/nov/06/dems-charge-gops-are-misdirecting-voters-polling-s/ 11/6/06 Flu shots at voting places, abandoned in Houston because of charges of Democratic voting influence, are permitted for election day for Cherokee country in western North Carolina. http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061106/NEWS01/61105035/1009/news01 11/4/06 Watching and ready to litigate: both Republicans and Democrats are mobilizing an army of supporters ready to question voting poll practices on election day and perhaps to challenge election results. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/04/us/politics/04lawyers.html?=homepage 11/3/06 Court flip-flops on validity of Ohio law requiring voter picture ID are likely to put into play on election day the acceptability of the huge number of absentee ballots cast in the state. http://www.morningjournal.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1699&dept_id=46368&newsid=17405049 11/3/06 Houston mayor abandons program of offering free flu shots at early voting stations, amid conservative criticism of the program as a ruse to encourage more voting for Democrats. http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4303301.html 10/26/06 New report by nonpartisan organization tracking U.S. election procedures indicates evidence that there will likely be serious voting irregularities on November 7 in 10 states, including Florida. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102606Z.shtml 10/24/06 An electoral integrity project says it has successfully hacked the Chicago election database, demonstrating how it would be possible for a hacker to wipe out the whole database. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102406K.shtml 10/22/06 Election poll workers in Tennessee are forbidden by state elections commission from telling a voter whether a no or yes vote on a confusingly-worded referenendum on same-sex marriage will reflect his/her views on the issue. http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/election/article/0,1406,KNS_630_5084559,00.html 10/21/06 Supreme Court overrules a lower court verdict and says that Arizona may enforce a state law requiring photo ID for voting in November's election. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/20/AR2006102001084.html?referrer=email 10/20/06 GOP to begin airing TV ads this week warning of the possibility of cataclysmic terrorist attacks. http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2588960 10/20/06 Critic of Maryland election practices receives Diebold's computer code for the 2004 election and calls this an indication of a "grave security threat" to voting in the state. 10/19/06 Facing increasingly likely defeat in November elections, Republicans may have a "miracle" up their sleeves to pull it out: various strategems to manipulate who votes and how the votes are counted. http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1018-26.htm 10/18/06 Report from Ohio indicates that Ken Blackwell, running 25% behind his Democratic opponent for Governor, may try to use his office of Secretary of State to disqualify the opponent (Strickland) on a technicality about his place of residence. http://sixers.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZGU5MjMwNGQyMTY4NGM0ZWZmN2NmZGFlNjc4ZDFhYjQ= 10/18/06 Correction please: after ignoring a George Supreme Court ruling against the state's voting law requiring photo ID at the polls, having sent out a notice to voters to comply with the state law, the Elections Board sends out 300,000 new letters "correcting" the earlier one and indicating that any of 17 forms of ID will be acceptable. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/17/AR2006101701543.html?referrer=email 10/1/06 Voting rights group in Ohio files lawsuit against Secretary of State Blackwell for violating Ohio law requiring that voting registration opportunities to furnished at all state public assistance agencies. http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3702 9/27/06 Election stealing on the cheap: Princeton technology report says electronic voting machines can be hacked in four minutes time and $12 worth of tools. http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/Elections.htm 9/26/06 Stricter laws requiring ID for voters stir charges that Republicans are trying to manipulate election results by discouraging votes of minorities and seniors. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/26/us/politics/26voting.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin 9/23/06 Rolling Stone article by Robert F.Kennedy details continuing problem in the integrity of electronic voting machine systems, related to state election officials allowing companies that operate the machines to control the voting process. Abuses range from the Georgia election of 2002 in which a Diebold insider admits that the machines were "hacked" to that of the 2006 Maryland primary after which the Governor proposed the state go back to hand counting for November election. 9/23/06 Newspaper investigation in inland southern California counties shows numerous instance of a Republican voter registration drive creating instances in which party affiliations were changed to Republican without the knowledge of the registering voter. http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_voters21.37b1351.html 9/21/06 New York Times editorial: Voter ID bill just passed by the House is un-democratic and unconstitutional, since its intention (and effect if it goes into law) is for voter suppression. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/opinion/21thu1.html?th&emc=th 4 Democrats join 224 Republicans in the House in passing a voter ID act called an act for "Election integrity." 228-196 vote: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll459.xml 9/21/06 Help Maryland Vote: In view of the state's massive problems with electronic voting machines during its recent primary elections, Governor Ehrlich (Republican) proposes "scrapping" the new electronic voting system in favor of paper ballots. Most state officials say "no way." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092001356.html?referrer=email 9/21/06 Worse than the butterfly ballot: 8 precincts remain uncounted in tight race in Boston for a State Senate seat. Voters saw no names on the ballots, had to write in the names and addresses of those for whom they were voting. 7/26/06 Federal panel warns that many voting jurisdictions are not prepared to deal with the technical problems of dealing with new electronic voting equipment. 7/17/06 Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Just vote. Arizona voters will face a ballot initiative that would offer a million dollars to one voter chosen at random. Voting is "cheaper" than buying a lottery ticket. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/17/us/17voter.html?th&emc=th 7/7/06 Questions about Bilbray-Busby congressional race in San Diego may presage similar issues in the upcoming fall of 06 races. http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/v-print/story/14274756p-15084490c.html 7/3/06 BradBlog reports that RFK Jr. and a Florida lawyer are about to file a lawsuit against two electronic voting companies based on information from insider whistle-blowing sources. http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3023 6/29/06 Supreme Court approves most aspects of Texas redistricting plan orchestrated by Tom Delay, excepting boundaries that discriminate against Latino voters. Since such discriminations are the "genius" of congressional district gerrymandering, the practical application of the ruling may be very contentious. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/28/AR2006062800660.html?referrer=email 6/21/06 Republican House members from several Souhter states block a vote to renew the Voting Rights Act. They say their states are "unfairly" singled out for elecetion oversight, despite documented irregularities in their elections: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/21/voting.rights.act.ap/ 6/9/06 New GAO study details multiple irregularities in 2004 elections. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060608/ap_on_el_ge/election_investigation;_ylt=AoM3MDM 6/7/06 Democrats and grassroots activists accuse Ohio Secretary of State Blackwell of promulgating rules for voter registration designed to benefit his campaign for Governor. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060606S.shtml 5/31/06 Extensive report in Rolling Stone by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the "errors" in Ohio voting during the 2004 presidential election leads to a familiar conclusion: Ohio Republican operatives stifled the vote and stole the election for Georgre W. Bush: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen 5/30/06 Former Republican official in New Hampshire who served time for masterminding the "phone jamming" scheme in the state's 2002 election is out of prison and back to work: for a GOP "campaign school" to advise party candidates on electoral strategy. http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/05/29/convicted_phone_jammer_helping_host_gop_candidate_workshop/ 5/20/06 New York State Republicans use prison inmates to pad GOP voting rolls and retain control of the state senate: http://www.amhersttimes.com/index.php?task=view&id=1597&Itemid=27 5/17/06 Electronic voting machines garner a mixed reaction in Pennsylvanis elections: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/tribpm/s_454161.html 5/17/06 Opinion: Electronic voting fraud is a national crisis, with the worst example being the 2004 presidential election: http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_804.shtml 5/8/06 Electronic voting machines turn out to be a nightmare for a rural Arkansas county, with numerous and serious errors and glithces: http://www.eurekaspringstimesecho.com/articles/2006/05/08/news/we1.txt 4/29/06 Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour implicated in New Hampshire phone jamming scandal; his investment company fronted the money for the GOP marketing firm that did the dirty trick: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1902161 4/25/06 New Hampshire phone jamming incident (from Senator Sununu's election campaign in 2002): an isolated and typical dirty trick or a Watergate-style scandal with links to the White House? Depends on which party you ask. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aQGLEwqlIdHo 4/20/06 Ohio election officials being prosecuted for allegedly rigging results of recount of 2004 election: http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3073 4/20/06 U.S, Elections Commission resigns, observes an alarming erosion of public confidence in the integrity of our elector process: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0604/S00159.htm 4/11/06 White House operatives tied to phone-jamming scheme in New Hampshire in 2002 which help insure election of John Sununu to Senate: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/041006Q.shtml 4/11/06 California special election ends with negative campaining: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14315066.htm 4/6/06 Voting machine company in Indiana fails to fulfillment its contractual obligation to provide operating touch-screen voting machines for absentee voting: http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002653.htm 4/3/06 Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, candidate for governor of Ohio, reveals he had "accidentally" invested in Diebold Corporation: http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/04/03/blackwell_shares.html 3/31/06 Many states struggling with concerns about electronic voting machines and desires to create paper trail voting systems as deadline for compliance with HAVA requirements to convert to electronic systems passes: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/033106L.shtml 3/23/06 New electronic voting equipment not working well in Illinois, as vote counts are delayed: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/22/AR2006032202171.html?referrer=email 3/21/06 Legal action pending against use or purchase of Diebold voting machines in California: http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002577.htm 3/21/06 In New Orleans elections, re-scheduled from February to April 22, flood refugees will not be allowed to vote at local polling stations, as Iraqi ex-patriats in U.S. were allowed to do in their country's election: http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2974/continued/213#continued 3/20/06 Election machines mis-tally election results in a New Hampshire town: http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Voting+machines+removed+in+Grafton&articleId=37f3b7dd-a9de-4bd8-99d4-f3a60b903754 3/7/06 Texas case: Supreme Court unlikely to find "re-redistricting" unconstitutional: http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=11233 3/6/06 Maryland Gov. supports bill to scrap touch-screen voting in favor of paper ballots http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-ehrlich0bal-local-headlines 3/6/06 Georgia Senate looks into adding paper receipt to touch-screen voting machines http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/politics/14032432.htm 2/27/06 Congressional district gerrymandering expected to allow nearly all members of Congress to be re-elected: http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_8205.shtml 2/20/06 White House joins state of Texas in arguing for Republican gerrymandering before Supreme Court: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021806E.shtml 2/19/06 ACLU examines voting districts http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060219/NEWS01/602190306/100 2/17/06 Elections chief questions use of electronic voting http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2006/02/17/peninsula/20060217_pe01_elections.txt 2/2/06 Jesse Jackson Jr.: need for a constitutional amendment to guarantee voting rights of Americans: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20011203/jackson20011119 1/23/06 Washington Post report on hacked electronic voting machines: http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002313.htm
1/20/06 Upgrading of voting machines lags: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011906F.shtml 1/20/06 PA group sues to prevent electronic voting: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011906S.shtml
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Analysis & views: 10/10/08 Florida's "no match no vote" law may keep thousands of new registrants from the polls in November. . Of 230,000 new registrants, 33,000 were found to have provided information not matching information on federal records, 10,400 were informed by mail of this fact. Different counties have different approaches to dealing with mismatches. Hillsborough County SOE tries to contact apparent mismatches by phone and currently has only 800 "unverified" registrants. Others, like Pinellas County, put a flag on the apparent mismatches and leave it to the flagged voter to work it out with poll workers on election day. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/oct/10/na-800-voter-registrations-unverified-in-county/ 9/30/08 How ready is Florida for a prime time honest election in November? Head of League of Women Voters meets with election officials in Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa and West Palm Beach and pronounces a "mixed bag" of readiness for an election with an expected record turn-out. Lack of early voting facilities, especially in minority areas, is one kind of concern. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/09/27/a4a_voting_0927.html 3/20/08 So you Florida Democrats didn't like the primary the re-vote plan? Let us show you another model that just got in:. Two Florida legislators propose a "compromise" in which half of the convention delegates would be seated based on January 29 primary, half on the basis of the overall vote in primaries across the country. There is no indication whatever that either the Obama nor the Clinton campaigns would find this any more acceptable than the "re-vote" model they've already rejected. http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20080320/NEWS/803200326 3/19/08 As Florida Democrats throw the problem of seating convention delegates to the "mercy" of the DNC, a fourth of Democrats polled by Miami Herald say they are unlikely to vote in November if Florida's primary vote is disregarded. http://www.miamiherald.com/979/story/461944.html 3/17/08 If, as expected, the Florida Democratic Party abandons its plan for a mail-in primary re-vote, is there a plan B waiting in the wings?: Apparently not, as Obama and Clinton ("the candidates," with Mike Gravel being once again "disappeared" from any consideration) are unable to agree on any re-vote formula that each fears would give advantage to the other http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/459369.html 3/17/08 New York Times article portrays Florida Governor Charlie Crist as being unperturbed by the difficulty of state Democrats in dealing with their presidential primary debacle. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/us/politics/17crist.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 3/7/08 The 6 million dollar dilemma for Florida's Democrats. Senator Nelson and State CFO Alex Sink join Governor Crist in calling on DNC to authorize a re-vote in Florida to allow the state's Democrats to be represented at the national convention. There's one stipulation, though. They demand (and House Speaker Mario Rubio agrees) that the DNC and not the taxpayers of Florida foot the $6 million bill for the election. So far Chairman Dean of DNC is saying no thanks. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/03/07/m1a_dems_prez_0307.html 3/4/08 Florida Democrats watch from the sidelines today as Texas and Ohio voters will determine the future course of the presidential nominations, as some Democrats are starting to characterize the early primary as a "nightmare." http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-flamarch40304sbmar04,0,7018318.story 3/1/08 Florida Democrats selecting national convention delegates today amidst uncertainty whether any of them will be seated at convention. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/elections/sfl-flbdelegates0301pnmar01,0,1813525.story 2/15/08 Hillary Clinton's staffers supported DNC's decision to strip Michigan and Florida of their convention delegates to sanction their early primaries. Now, having won those "meaningless" primaries, she is insisting that the "will of the people" in these states be respected and their delegates seated. 2/6/08 Confusion in presidential primary system shown by numerous would-be voters in Florida who called supervisers of elections or even showed up to vote (a week late) at their polling places. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/orl-voteoops0608feb06,0,266933.story 1/30/08 Can you say; Charlie Crist, Cuba Libre, snowbird, deja vu? You'll need these words and more to explain the results of yesterday's election in Florida. Crist's endorsement of McCain and his barnstorming campaign for the property tax amendment were big factors. The Hispanic vote was key to both McCain's and Clinton's presidential primary wins; snowbirds in south Florida and along all of the state's coasts overcame inland and northern opposition to the property tax measure. As for the Democrats, they must have felt it was deja vu 2000 all over again, as Republicans used their control of election procedures once again to engineer a national presidential victory on the back of their success in Florida, as what the Democrats got out of the election may have been a disaffected group of their voters who, denied an influence on the nomination, may stay away in droves from the polls in November. By the way, can you say President McCain? http://www.miamiherald.com/979/story/399021.html 1/29/08 Rising frequency of early and absentee voting in Florida raises concerns among election experts of possibilities for election irregularities. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/01/29/m1a_absentee_0129.html 1/29/08 "Peculiar" election in Florida today as Republican candidates compete with funds they collected elsewhere, and Democrats, who have raised money in Florida, are forbidden to campaign and use the money elsewhere. http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/012908/met_241427231.shtml 1/25/08 Alex Sink and other Florida Democrats want DNC to relent on forbidding presidential candidates from campaigning in Florida: They say that the hardline response on moving forward the presidential primary date only helps Republicans in the state campaign and jeopardizes the national party's chance of getting Florida's electoral votes. Well, duh, wasn't that the very point of the Republican legislature's action on the voting date (with Democrats blindly "going along" with what amounted to shooting themselves in the foot, all in the name of greater state "influence" on their party's nominee) http://www.floridacapitalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/CAPITOLNEWS/801240319 1/21/08 GOP candidates and the media "handicappers" who are incessantly looking for "bellweather" state primaries turn their attention to the January 29 presidential primary in Florida, as Democratic candidates and voters may stay away in droves; illustrating the political brilliance of the Republican-dominated Florida legislature (with a lot of suicidal help from the Democrats) in pushing forward the primary date. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/387316.html 1/19/08 "Brace yourselves, Florida voters, for a bootlicking " Miami Herald columnists so warn Floridians that, as the Jan 29 primary approaches, Republican presidential candidates are about to descend on Florida and will compete with one another in the "sweet talking" that they hope will deliver them votes, even if the talk bears little relation to what they would actually do as President. http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/385609.html 1/9/08 Flood of petitions for November ballot in Florida causes election officials to scramble to verify signatures before required February 1 deadline. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD02NEW010908.htm 12/11/07 Has the "Help America Vote Act" become a "prevent Floridians from voting" act? Federal voting rights lawsuit is heard in Gainesville of claims that many Floridians, especially Hispanic immigrant ones, have been denied registration by virtue of the errors in a HAVA-mandated state voter registration database against which local registrars must compare the social security numbers of those who apply for registration. http://www.miamiherald.com/516/story/341350.html 10/23/07 Democratic presidential candidates are "terrorized" against campaigning in Florida: So says St.Petersburg Times columnist Adam Smith, noting that these candidates, having signed DNC's pledge not to campaign in states like Florida and Michigan that advanced the date of their primaries, are fearful that the pledge violation would anger voters in early primary states like New Hampshire, with little fear that observing the pledge would ruin their chances in these larger states. http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/16/State/Campaign_in_Fla_They_.shtml 9/24/07 Florida Democratic Party, re-affirming plans for January 29 presidential primary election, begins push to see that the state's votes will "count" in defiance of DNC sanctions. http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/248218.html 9/16/07 Florida Democratic Party head Karen Thurman is in a no-win situation as she attempts to mediate opposing positions on what to do about the Jan. 29 primary. 9/2/07 "GET IN LINE, FLORIDA" Ron Cunningham, editorialist for Gainesville SUN, notes this title of an LA Times editorial chastising Florida for "leap-frogging" its Democratic primary ahead of California's, ignoring the hypocrisy of a state which has twice advanced its primary date only to find that its "frog" now rests just behind Florida's. Cunningham argues that this kind of political gamesmanship must end in favor of a thorough reform of the country's system of conducting presidential primaries. http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20070902/COLUMNISTS/709020303/1088/opinion 9/2/07 "Top tier" Democratic presidential candidates (Clinton, Edwards, Obama) join 4 "lower tier" ones in promising to adher to DNC's plea to boycott Florida primary election. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/223536.html 8/26/07 National media articles on DNC decision to strip Florida of its convention delegates as sanction for moving its primary to January 29. Washington Post: New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/us/politics/26calendar.html?th&emc=th 2/1/07 Governor Crist's plan to attach optical scans machines to Florida's touch-screen voting machines, initially greeted with much enthusiasm, is beginning to raise some objections and about cost and effectiveness. 1/29/07 Opinion: push to advance date of Florida primary for 08 elections is near insanity, as Florida's track record for electoral irregularities suggests that this action would only introduce more "chaos" into the electoral system. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/local_news/epaper/2007/01/28/s1c_BINO_0128.html 12/20/06 Political science professor says Christine Jennings would have won Sarasota congressional race by 3100 votes if the "under-vote" count had not been artificially inflated. http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061220/CAPITOLNEWS/612200332 11/23/06 Undervotes, coincidence or conspiracy? Orlando Sentinel analysis shows that those precincts in Sarasota County with the largest number of people who voted in other races but not the Congress District 13 race were those in which the largest vote margins were obtained by Democrats in those other races. Coincidence? http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112206S.shtml 11/22/06 After ChristineJennings sues over results of congressional election in Florida, Leon County circuit judge rules state must move quickly to test questioned voting machines in Sarasota County. 11/18/06 Audit of voting machines in Buchanan/Jennings Florida congressional race is delayed by an apparent stalling tactic of the Buchanan camp in which they claim to be unable to find the required "expert" for their side to allow the audit to go forward. 11/13/06 Butterfly ballot, Part 2? As recount begins in contested race in Congressional District 13, many voters in Sarasota and Manatee Counties say they thought they had voted for Jennings, but their "review" screens said they voted for Buchanan, and they had to make some effort to correct their votes. Shades of Palm Beach in 00, when "inattentive" voters thought they had voted for Gore but in fact voted for another Buchanan (Pat). http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/15998730.htm 11/10/06 "An unusual anomaly" says Jeb Bush of the 18,000 "undervote" in Sarasota county as a recount begins in Katherine Harris's former congressional district, in which the Republican candidate "won" the election by a margin of .2%. http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061110/NEWS/611100810 10/17/06 Amending the Florida constitution to make it harder to amend the constitution: Carl Haasen cuts loose on the special interests financing Amendment 3 in the November ballot. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/columnists/carl_hiaasen/ 10/14/06 Crist and Davis now agree on the issue of felon voter registration: there should be "automatic" restoration as soon as a sentence has been served. http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB8SKEI9TE.html 6/13/06 Florida elections supervisors are bridling at a plan of state elections division to require state approval for them to test their voting mavchines. 4/29/06 By 26-14 vote, Florida Senate removes from November ballot a proposal, pushed by lobbyists, to extend legislators' term limits from 8 to 12 years: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060429/CAPITOLNEWS/604290326 3/23/06 Florida Supreme Court rejects redistricting amendment on ballot,. saying it violates rule that an amendment can deal with only one subject: http://www.tdo.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060323/BREAKINGNEWS/603230350 3/15/06 African-American legislators in Tallahassee launch "uphill battle" for restoration of felons' voting rights: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060315/CAPITOLNEWS/603150316 3/2/06 Florida state senator Rod Smith introduces bill to require paper-trail backup for touch-screen voting machines: http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/APN/603011059&cachetime=5 2/27/06 Report details errors of voting machines in Palm Beach County in 2004 presidential election: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0225-07.htm 2/21/06 GOP lawmakers attempt to limit citizen-driven amendments: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060219/NEWS02/602190321/1011
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FLORIDA LOCALITIES
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Analysis and views: Jacksonville: 11/3/08 "I voted" sticker on elderly demented woman raises questions about an "out-reach" to nursing homes by Duval County FL elections supervisor. http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/110208/met_350857359.shtml Tampa: 10/8/08 Supervisor of Elections in Hillsborough County FL is accused of spending large amounts of taxpayer money to send out "voter education" material that was a disguised project to promote his own re-election. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/oct/07/070856/johnson-spends-big-bucks-voter-education/ Broward Co.: 9/28/08 Paper trail ballots may leave a trail of troubles in Broward County. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-flbmayocol0928sbsep28,0,2075631.column Palm Beach Co.: 3/12/08 Touch screens, inaugurated in 2002, had their last use in last week's election in Palm Beach County, as some voters wish them a "fond farwell," others say "good riddance." http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/03/12/s1a_pbvote_0312.htm Gainesville: 3/11/08 Florida Democrats consider the problems associated with a "do-over" of their presidential primary and chair of local party pronounces the whole situation a "mess." http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20080311/NEWS/803110316/1002/NEWS Orlando: 1/31/08 Many Orlando-area voters on Tuesday lodged complaints about the operation of Florida's "closed primary" system. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/orl-glitchfolo3108jan31,0,4139347.story Palm Beach Co.: 1/28/08 Is tomorrow's election "already over" in Palm Beach County? Nearly 100,000 people have already voted early or returned absentee ballots. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/01/28/s1b_earlyvote_0128.html Tampa: 1/28/08 After tomorrow's election, Hillsborough County will ditch the expensive touch screen voting machines that it acquired 6 years ago. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/jan/28/me-primary-marks-end-for-touch-screens/ Hialeah: 1/4/08 Where's Rudy? If you mean the "front-running" GOP candidate Rudy Giuliani, he wasn't in Iowa yesterday where he polled 4% in the Republican caucuses. He was at a supporter's rally in Hialeah, Florida, where he catered to voter resentment over both parties' "sanctions" against the state for advancing the date of its primary and appealed to the history of Florida as having "saved" the party in 2000. And, hey, haven't countless numbers of his rich New York associates moved to south Florida? Maybe your votes won't count, but your money will. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/366685.html Orlando: 6/20/07 Orange County FL leads a parade of counties and cities in the state that are considering moving their local elections up to January 29, to match the change in presidential primary election, citing cost savings while opponents cite voter "confusion" in multi-issue elections. Jacksonville: 3/22/07 After a night of slow election returns in last Tuesday's election in Duval County (Jacksonville), county elections supervisor considers going back in May run-offs to "old fashioned" way of getting results from precincts to headquarters. http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/032207/met_8793610.shtml West Palm Beach: 3/19/07 Owner of the software company whose product resulted in a "glitch" in last week's election for mayor of West Palm Beach has a checkered corporate history and maintains a sumptuous life style on the Florida coast. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2007/03/19/m1a_SOE_0319.html West Palm Beach: 3/14/07 Shades of 2000: official web site of Palm Beach FL County elections bureau gives erroneous results of yesterday's local election races. Alachua: 3/5/07 One of the three candidates for a Commission seat in Alachua FL gives "his side" of the story of how he along with 2 other challengers were disqualified by local election officials. http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070305/EDITORIALS0101/70305010/-1/editorials Alachua: 3/2/07 Did city officials rig an election to guarnatee reelection of two sitting commissioners? Issue is debated in Alachua FL as three challengers are disqualified on contested claims that their qualifying papers were not in order. http://www.highspringsherald.com/articles/2007/03/01/news/news01.txt Palm Beach Co.: 12/29/06 Palm Beach County FL supervisor of elections reports being repeatedly harassed by county auditors over expenditures for "outreach" activities like payment for NCAAP's "get out the vote" t-shirts. Jacksonville: 12/12/06 Duval County Supervisor of Elections seeks City Council funding to purchase equipment to provide for paper trail for the county's touch screen voting machines. http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/121206/met_6768785.shtml Sarasota Co.: 12/12/06 Electronic voting expert says that the website of the Sarasota County FL division of elections falsely states the way in which voters are alerted to "under-votes" on their ballots, incorrectly claiming that the voter is asked to acknowledge explicitly whether he or she wants to refrain from voting in some of the races. http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3893 Volusia Co.: 11/18/06 Memory card problems are plaguing the voting machines in Volusia County. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD04POL111806.htm Tallahassee: 3/27/06 Effort by Leon County's elections supervisor to insure honest elections is resisted by voting machine companies and Florida officials: http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060326/APN/603260501&cachetime=5 Ft. Myers: 3/13/06 Lee-Gate? Thieves and vandals target Lee County Democratic Party: http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060309/NEWS0110/603090399/1002/NEWS01 Tallahassee: 3/10/06 Law suit may result from Leon County's failure to provide voting machines for the disabled: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060310/NEWS01/603100365/1010/NEWS01 Palm Beach: 2/27/06 Voter watch dog group finds 40 touch screen voting machines in Palm Beach County which were dated and cast 2 weeks before the 2004 presidential election: http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-auth.cgi?file=/1954/19421.html
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