Daily Voting News For March 1-3, 2007

Miller Co. Arkansas Election Administrator Robby Selph resigned from his job saying this about Election Systems and Software, “The reason I am leaving is the provider of the Ivotronics and related software lacks competency to make their equipment work timely and effectively. They ... make a difficult job impossible to do. They can’t spell, meet deadlines, send documents to the right address or code elections correctly. They leave races off the ballot for us to correct, they can’t program their software to work and you have to hand add the results. And they don’t return phone calls. The ES&S people in Arkansas are capable but the people I have dealt with in the home office in Omaha prevent them from being effective. They are also mean-spirited when you try to get them to correct the numerous and recurring errors.”...

• NAtional: Take Action: Contact Congress to Ban Electronic Ballots! LINK
• National: Exclusive: John Edwards Says ‘Yes’ To Ban On Touch-Screen (DRE) Voting Machines! LINK
• Alabama: Vendor set to install database for voters LINK
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• Arkansas: Miller County - Commission is looking for new election administrator LINK
• Arkansas: St Francis County - Some polling locations will be consolidated in special election LINK
• California: San Luis Obispo County - Grand jury praises clerk-recorder's 2006 election work LINK
• Colorado: Denver - Fmr. Election Chief Talks About Election Fiasco LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Makers pitch voting machines with paper trail Sarasota citizens committee hears from firm that created controversial iVotronic LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County considers switch to voting by mail LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County – Columnist - Analysis of undervote provides little comfort LINK
• Maryland: Letters - Touch-screen voting still an act of faith LINK
• New York: Lifton seeks to preserve committee on voting machines 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 a disturbing article from Chicago, IL it is revealed that Cook County will pay Sequoia for their voting machines based on a sliding scale that will be controlled by how quickly machines transmit results to election headquarters and also by how quickly those votes can be tabulated. The county does not seem to care as much about accuracy or security as it does for speed. ...

• NAtional: Fooled Once: Checking Vote Count Integrity LINK
• Colorado: Montrose County - Montrose moves to fix election failures A study of the Montrose County 2006 election exposed a wide range of problems. Fortunately, race results weren't close enough to be distorted. LINK
• Florida: Editorial - Florida setting example LINK
• Illinois: Cook County - County ties firm's pay to how fast it counts votes LINK
• Illinois: Cook County - Sequoia Voting Systems Equipment a Success in Chicago and Cook County Municipal Elections LINK
• Missouri: Johnson County - Missouri race is shades of Florida The case of a county auditor contest in limbo because of flawed paper ballots could affect votes in Kansas City. LINK
• New York: ‘Paper’ tigers growl for safer elections - Green Party pushes to scrap electronic voting LINK
• Pennsylvania: Lawrence County - County to check voting machines for damage LINK
• Texas: Guadalupe County - Texas AG looks into alleged voting errors LINK
• Texas: Potter and Randall Counties - Joint elections plan hits snag New Potter County clerk studying the proposal LINK
• Virginia: Tazewell County - Damaging legislation — Voting change could hurt SwVa. counties 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.**

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

LINKTher e are many good provisions in the new election reform bill (HR 811 introduced by Congressman Rush Holt D-NJ), called the “Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007.” For example, it would ban wireless communications to reduce the possibility of some types of hacking; it would prevent Diebold, Sequoia, and other voting machine companies from using secret software on the voting machines; and it would require partial hand counts to check the accuracy of the machines.

However, the primary problem with the bill is that it allows the continued use of Direct Record Electronic (DRE), or “touch screen” voting machines, as long as they print out a copy of the electronic record of your vote for you to approve (called a “voter-verified paper audit trail” or “VVPAT”). But this “band-aid” cannot solve the systemic problems inherent to DREs. Democracy demands that DREs be banned from all American elections.

It has been said of those calling for a “ban DREs” amendment to HR 811 that we intend to “kill” the bill. Nothing could be further from the truth. We do not seek to remove this bill from consideration; we seek to correct a fundamental omission, which we believe presents a grave danger to all future elections....

• NAtional: Holt bill would demand paper record of votes Once defeated, proposal getting a second look with new Democratic majority LINK
• National: Brad, Common Cause Debate Rush Holt Election Reform Bill on 'Peter B. Collins Show' LINK
• California: Riverside County - Elections chief wary of 'hack' test LINK
• Colorado: Montrose County - Criticism of election ‘no surprise’ LINK
• Florida: Sarasota County - Too many unknowns LINK
• Hawaii: State's top elections official will step down LINK
• New York: New York City – Board of Elex Raided City ‘Criminal Probe’ LINK
• Ohio: Cuyahoga County - 2005 Pepper Pike election decided LINK
• Ohio: North Baltimore - Some want nonpartisan village voting LINK
• Pennsylvania: Northampton County - Registrar counters with lawyer LINK
• Virginia: Star County - Political Parties Plan for November Election LINK
• Estonia: Estonia claims new e-voting first 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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