Daily Voting News For March 16-18, 2007

In the words of Dale Carrico in his blog “Amore Mundi” on the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies website: “Champions of electronic voting machines often tout their benefits for differently enabled citizens in particular. Although concerns about the underaccessibility of old voting systems are certainly legitimate (and overdue), too often this rhetoric of improved accessibility has actually functioned as a way of deflecting growing criticism of the extraordinary insecurity of many of the actual systems that have been put in place across the country.

“Pushing a rhetoric of enfranchisement for the differently enabled, corporate hucksters and partisan hacks have facilitated disenfranchisement for all, pimpling over the electoral landscape with easily hackable machines that provide no paper trails, systems that can be stealthily manipulated and are incapable of recount should problems arise (even in jurisdictions where such recounts are mandated by law).” ...

• NAtional: Differently Enabled Americans Call for Election Systems Featuring Both Accessibility and Security LINK
• National: Election scorecard proposal gains momentum LINK
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• Florida: Secretary of state's goal: No more elections embarrassments LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County – Columnist - Did vote warning just slip her mind? LINK
• Mississippi: NAACP to host voter empowerment campaign LINK
• New Jersey: State voting machine probe focuses on a single vendor LINK
• New Jersey: So That Voting Is More Than A Crap Shoot Engineer says gaming expertise could help safeguard elections LINK
• New Jersey: Computer engineer: Monitor electronic voting like slots LINK
• New Jersey: Bergen County - SCI requests county voting machine files LINK
• New York: Oneida County - Delays hamper purchase of voting machines LINK
• New York: Westchester County - Elections officials may get $28G raises LINK
• Ohio: Professor Testifies to Congress LINK
• Pennsylvania: Presidential primary date could change LINK
• Pennsylvania: Allegheny County - Faithless public acts 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.**

In an article in OpEdNews Teresa Hommel calls voters to action and asks that HR-811 be amended to correct problems. She identifies a couple problems with the worst being: “In response to growing national demand for paper ballots, HR811 defines a "voter-verified paper trail" from an electronic voting machine as a paper ballot! But nobody counts the votes on the paper trail to get election results. No law requires the paper trail to be counted completely (for example, New York law requires only 3% spot-check). HR811 would cause endless problems and confusion with state election laws where the term "ballot" means a voter-marked paper ballot. The "thing" that would be defined as a ballot in federal law would not have to be counted, according to most state laws, to determine election results.” That seems pretty clear and is just one more reason that HR-811 must be amended. ...

• NAtional: ACTION ALERT! Amend HR811--contact your members of Congress ASAP LINK
• National: Listen to the Handicapped Voter... LINK
• National: ACLU and Disability Law Center Applaud Secretary Galvin’s Decision on New Voting Technology LINK
• National: Ballot Bonanza The first big survey of voter ID requirements—and its surprising findings. LINK
• Colorado: Coffman's Mission: Protect The Right To Vote LINK
• Colorado: Montrose County - Coffman: Montrose can fix voting woes LINK
• Florida: Palm Beach County - Tech firm withstands Palm Beach vote upset LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Stunning News on the Fiasco Surrounding the November Election in Florida’s 13th Congressional District LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - 'Smoking gun' or minor problem? The elections chief downplays memo on voting issues, but an attorney sees something else. LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Probe sought into disputed Sarasota race Congressional Democrats called for an investigation into the disputed Sarasota congressional race, decided by 369 votes among tens of thousands of undervotes. LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Lawmaker requests hearing on D-13 votes LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Ehlers rebuffs Democrats on Fla.-13 LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Sarasota voting machines tested LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Elections supervisor may face congressional inquiry LINK
• Mississippi: Clark testifies in Washington on Miss. voting LINK
• New York: New York City Change To Optical Scan Elections: Not the answer, but getting closer LINK
• Pennsylvania: Lancaster County - Commissioner race: who comes first LINK
• Pennsylvania: Northampton County - Voting machines not state certified They weren't checked after software change. But official says they were federally certified. LINK
• Vermont: Study: Runoff voting could increase cost of elections 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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