Daily Voting News For November 21-23, 2006

Elections officials, including the EAC, wring their hands in worry over "Voter Confidence". Voter confidence won't come about because we cover-up or minimize the fact that there are failures all over; that people are having to stand in lines so long that some give-up and go home. Voter confidence will not come about as long as voters see their votes 'flipping' on the screen before their very eyes. Voter confidence will not come about as long as voters know there were problems with the machine they voted on but election officials tell them it's alright "no votes were lost". Voter confidence WILL grow when the problems are fixed and when all voters can go to the polls and have a good experience. Making a pretty picture out of a disaster helps no one except a few elections officials who want the truth hidden and the vendors. ...

• National: The GOP's dirty deeds of 2006
  Salon's guide to robo-calls, push polls, vigilantes and other murky dealings from this year's elections. LINK
• National: Tiny town could be Waterloo for vote machines LINK
• National: Editorial - The ballot box shell game LINK
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• National: Electronic Vote Counting: Where Did We Go Wrong? LINK
• National: Robo-Calls and Other 2006 Election Irregularities LINK
• Arkansas: Benton County - Finally finalized LINK
• Colorado: Elections a tricky fix LINK
• Colorado: Denver - "Shocking" election omission LINK
• Colorado: Douglas County – Editorial - Dougco voters show stamina LINK
• Florida: Is Florida Ready for Democracy? LINK
• Florida: FL-13 - State panel says Republican won House race; rival sues LINK
• Florida: FL-13 - GOP candidate certified for Congress; loser sues LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - State planning audit of touch-screens LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County – Opinion - The buck stops with Kathy Dent LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Sarasota vote results spur suit LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Judge denies emergency election contest LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Judge: Sarasota Democrat can't test voting machines LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Judge issues setback to Jennings in lawsuit LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Sarasota Voters File Lawsuit for Revote in Congressional Race LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Five groups file lawsuit over congressional race LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Sarasota Voters File Lawsuit for Revote in Congressional Race LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Details on the Voter Lawsuit Filed in Florida's 13th Congressional District LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Lawsuit alleges e-voting negligence in Florida LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Electronic Voting Dispute Goes To Court LINK
• Georgia: Georgia Fights Donzella James E-Voting Lawsuit LINK
• Georgia: Electronic voting challenged in Fulton court LINK
• Indiana: Lake County vote count final LINK
• Indiana: Marion County - Clerk-elect plans to cut precincts LINK
• Mississippi: Runoff voter turnout may be high LINK
• North Carolina: Kissell Will Request A Hand Recount in 8th District Race LINK
• North Carolina: Mecklenburg County - Black picks up 1 vote in recount; Jordan declines to concede race LINK
• New Jersey: Morris Township recount gives Republican one-vote win
  Court challenge from Democrats expected for seat on committee LINK
• New Mexico: Madrid Concedes - Will Not Request A Recount LINK
• New Mexico: Democrat in N.M. House race concedes LINK
• Utah: Utah County - Vote machines in the clear LINK
• Virginia: Election brings out nearly half the voters LINK
• Virginia: Election Day Oddities LINK
• West Virginia: Belmont County Counts the Votes LINK

We at VotersUnite.Org want to express our hopes that you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Our best wishes to all. / We warn anyone who will listen that our election system is being privatized. Private companies use private software to count our votes. There is very little transparency in the system. So it is extremely disconcerting to learn that some counties in Indiana have hired MicroVote to tabulate their votes for them. The counties buy MicroVote's machines, software, technical support and now even MicroVote employees to do the vote counting. MicroVote is the same company that knowingly installed illegal software on the machines in Indiana, and possibly in other states, prior to the primary. MicroVote is that same company that is being investigated for their practices in the state and has been investigated for illegal business practices and successfully sued for selling faulty equipment in the past. And yet this company is still being trusted to count votes? ...

• National: HR-2239, HR-550, What Now?
  2007 Federal Election Reform Legislation – VotersUnite.Org's Recommendation LINK
• National: Whistleblower Stephen Heller Says 'Diebold Cannot be Trusted to Run Elections in America' LINK
• National: E-voting `hero' pleads guilty to computer crime in Diebold case LINK
• National: Is the election over? Not in every race LINK
• National: ‘Vote-flipping’ is real, but the cause is still unclear
  Vote-flipping is a user-interface problem, not a technical flaw, says co-director of the Voting Technology Project LINK
• National: Wyden: 15 Reasons 'Vote by Mail' is the best for America LINK
• California: Riverside County - Menifee race now down to one vote; about 20,000 ballots remain to be counted in Riverside County LINK
• California: San Diego County - Paper ballots not big draw on Election Day; 1 voter in 10 used paper LINK
• California: San Diego County - Complaint lodged about vote count LINK
• California: Ventura County - Ballot-counting improvements vowed
  Elections chief says 14,000 votes still uncounted LINK
• Colorado: Denver County - Vote Centers are a disaster LINK
• Colorado: Pueblo County - No fraud in local election, says county clerk LINK
• Colorado: Pueblo County – Editorial - Absentee ballot problems LINK
• Florida: FL-13 - Legal Fight in Florida’s 13th Could Stretch Into 2007 LINK
• Florida: FL-13 - Experts say revotes rare, but possible LINK
• Florida: FL-13 - More Questions Arise About Competence and Impartiality of Sarasota Voting Machine Auditors LINK
• Florida: FL-13 - Audit Finds Dems Would Have Won if all Votes Had Been Recorded in Sarasota's FL-13 U.S. House Race LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Candidate denied access to vote machines' insides LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Check of touchscreens needs more credibility LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Candidate can't check voting machines yet LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Losing Sarasota Democrat denied voting machine access LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Judge won't speed up testing of voting machines in contested congressional race LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Analysis: Ballots favored Dems LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Florida lawsuit targets electronic voting machines in close race LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Sarasota Voters File Lawsuit for Re-vote in Congressional Race LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Jennings asks that machines actually used in voting be tested LINK
• Georgia: Follow the paper trail LINK
• Georgia: The Future of Democracy Will Be Determined from the Bench…Whether Judges Like it or Not LINK
• Indiana: Indiana Election Not Over LINK
• Indiana: Mahern asks for recount in House race LINK
• Indiana: Delaware County - Recount sought in recorder's race LINK
• Minnesota: Minneapolis begins work on multiple choice voting system LINK
• North Carolina: NC-8 - 8th District race tightens slightly as recount continues LINK
• New York: New Voting Machine Options Concern Citizens LINK
• New York: Vote Groups Screaming At Screens LINK
• New York: Advocacy groups fault touch-screen vote machines LINK
• Ohio: Belmont County - Officials Seeking Funds For Elections LINK
• Ohio: OH-15 - Pryce’s lead over Kilroy grows with 2 counties’ totals LINK
• Texas: Fort Bend County - Elections Chief Wants E-scan Machines, Better Phones To Avoid Past Election Pitfalls LINK
• Utah: Salt Lake County - Vote canvass bolsters Democrats LINK
• Utah: Utah County - Election analysis detects database problem LINK

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! / The disaster of an election in Denver, Colorado cost the tax payers over $4M or $20 for each voter who went to the polls. This is an amazing cost and it is being borne out all over the country as counties begin to tally up the costs of HAVA. Many counties are now spending two and three times more for elections than they have spent in the past and the cost can only go up once the first year contracts go away and the counties begin to realize they have the extra costs of maintenance, licensing, technical support, and the other hidden costs. And to add to the misery, many counties are beginning to complain about the cost of purchasing accessible voting machines that were not used in the last election and may never be used. ...

• National: GOP's Hayes Urges Rival To Concede LINK
• National: Opinion - Democrats can build trust by working for election fairness LINK
• Arkansas: Benton County - Election problems, federal requirements challenge commissioners LINK
• California: Actor apologizes for copying key documents on election equipment LINK
• Colorado: Denver County - Panel Investigates Election Fiasco LINK
• Colorado: Denver County - Election season costs Denver 20 bucks a vote LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Florida's 'national model' for fair elections now under scrutiny LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Voting machines actually used in disputed election to be tested LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Jennings team: Test of machines flawed LINK
• Indiana: Posey County - Curtis requests recount LINK
• Massachusetts: Lenox - CPA passes, but voting system fails LINK
• Maryland: Anne Arundel County - Recount Is Likely in House Contest LINK
• New Jersey: Ocean County - Voting machines proved reliable LINK
• Pennsylvania: Centre County - Board hears from unhappy voters LINK
• Pennsylvania: Northampton County - Changes slated for Northampton ballot LINK
• Texas: El Paso County - A troubleshooting report reveals the problems reported by election judges during the mid-term election. LINK
• Texas: Williamson County - Former Williamson elections administrator gets blame for problems LINK
• West Virginia: Belmont County - Election Costs Sky High In Belmont County LINK

**"Daily Voting News" is meant as a comprehensive listing of reports each day concerning issues related to election and voting news around the country regardless of quality or political slant. Therefore, items listed in "Daily Voting News" may not reflect the opinions of VotersUnite.Org or Scoop.**

John Gideon
Executive Director www.votersunite.org and
Member www.votetrustusa.org

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