Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

VotersUnite is honored to have a dozen specially inscribed and signed copies of “A Margin of Error: Ballots Of Straw” by Lani Massey Brown. Ms. Brown has worked as an election official and in the computer security field and now as a novelist. She has written a mystery novel around her experiences working for a Florida county election office. Read more about the book at VotersUnite.Org and help us out with a $50 or more donation and get a copy of the book as a premium. You help VotersUnite continue our valuable work and you get a great book....

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

Ohio Co., West Virginia, and Belmont Co., Ohio, both use ES&S iVotronic voting machines. Belmont Co. was recently presented with a contract from ES&S for programming, licensing, and maintenance. That contract was for $50,000 annually. The county turned down the contract. Ohio Co. will have to begin paying for their programming beginning in 2008 (the state has been paying the costs so far). West Virginia has a contract with a private contractor who will be doing the work that ES&S would do but the cost is $107 per precinct. For Ohio Co. the cost will be a little over $4,000 annually. It is time that our election officials realize that their friends, the vendors, are only out to make as much money as possible before they are found out. They gouge the taxpayers for their unreliable, insecure voting machines and then continue to gouge them for service contracts. The vendors have gotten fat off of the post-HAVA buying frenzy; now they have to keep feeding themselves by selling over-priced service contracts. And the vendors are only friends as long as everything is going along fine. When there is a problem they refuse to accept responsibility and nearly always blame the county, poll workers, or voters.

That story, and today's other notable voting news, linked below as usual...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

Late last Friday, without any media, the California SoS released the last set of reports from her “Top-To-Bottom Review.” While not the same dynamite as the reports on security and code review, they are important reports that in part highlight the failure of the old NASED-sponsored voting system qualification and ITA system. The Sequoia report relates the following:

This is an echo of the information provided in the Diebold and Hart Intercivic reports.

Why were these reports kept buried for a month after the rest of the reports were released? Why was there no media release?

The rest of today's notable voting news stories are linked below...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

An expert was included as part of a contingent present while the Kentucky State Board of Elections recertified the voting systems used in the state. His report to the state’s Attorney General is revealing and his recommendations would be good for most states.

As we reported yesterday, the GAO presented their report on the Sarasota Co., Florida, undervote to a committee of the House of Representatives. The report has been released and one researcher said, “We disagree that the prior test results adequately demonstrate that the voting systems could not have contributed to the undervote.” The GAO has been given authorization to accomplish three more tests prior to finalizing their inspection.

Those stories, and all the other notable voting news today, linked below...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

Today the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported to a House Committee on the results of their investigation into the Nov. Congressional election in Florida D-13. The report is still being kept secret but the committee voted unanimously to go back and do more testing of the voting machines.

UPDATE FROM BRAD: The GAO report is now available. Details here.

For links to the rest of today's notable voting news stories, see below...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

Today Sequoia announced that they are marketing a new optical scan voting system in New York. They claim it is in process to be certified to the 2005 voting system standards. Sequoia has no system presently in the process that is being tested to the 2005 standards. Could they actually be selling the Dominion voting system as their own in New York? The new system reportedly makes an image of the voter hand-marked ballot at the same time it is reading that ballot. Why is this necessary except to add more software and another process to voting systems that are already beyond these companies' abilities to design and build? Of course, more software equals a higher cost. The press release also describes a new “Audio Tactile Interface” (ATI) for blind and sight-impaired voters. The description leaves out any mention of how the blind and sight-impaired voters verify that the ATI has correctly marked their ballots. Failure to provide that verification would seem to be a violation of the Help America Vote Act....

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

As reported by a Dutch outlet in their English translation; “We do not trust voting computers' demanded that every single vote would be retained on its own piece of paper in the polling station. And that is what will happen from now on. On September 27, 2007 the Korthals Altes Committee issued its 'Voting with confidence' report. The state secretary for the interior immediately announced that 'Regulation for approval of voting machines 1997' will be withdrawn. As a result all Dutch voting computers will be decertified. Elections in the Netherlands will be held using paper ballots and red pencil for a while. After that, likely using 'vote printers' and optical scan counting computers.” The machines that will no longer be used are made by NEDAP and marketed in English speaking countries as “Liberty.” Ireland spent millions of Euros to buy the machines, then they were found to be insecure so Ireland is spending millions of Euros annually to store the machines that have never been used. Liberty is being marketed in New York....

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

Advanced Voting Solutions has now told three Pennsylvania counties that they have decided not to go any further with federal testing of their voting system, a requirement by the state before any voting system can be certified for use there. The question is all about a change to software that was required by the state. Rather than not take the path required by PA law, AVS has decided to argue with the state that the change is not consequential and does not require federal testing and certification. Rather than scream bloody-murder county election officials seem ready, willing and able to give AVS a pass as they talk about how much they like AVS’s voting machines. What is wrong with these people and when will they wake up and realize AVS is scamming them?...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

Pinellas Co Florida had an open house of all certified Optical Scan Systems for the public to test, view and evaluate. They are also creating a Citizen Selection Committee to decide which system they want to purchase. Meanwhile Broward Co has issued a no-bid, sole source contract to ES&S. No open house. No citizen involvement in the decision. One county official claims that there are no choices because there is only Diebold/Premier, ES&S and Sequoia. However, they have overlooked the fact that a fourth player is in the process of getting their op-scans certified for use in the state; Dominion Voting Systems, a Canadian company with sales all over Canada. Of course part of the story may be the fact that one of the Broward Co Commissioners is married to a former lobbyist for ES&S. All of this makes Broward Co Florida officials today’s winner of the “Enemy of Democracy” award....

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

There are more reports from Pennsylvania today regarding county’s mitigations for the failure of their voting system vendor, Advanced Voting Solutions, to get necessary changes through the federal test and certification phase. The problem is not with the counties or the state; the problem is all AVS. Yet the counties are trying to figure out what to do until their machines are alright for use and how they are going to pay for it. The state is commiserating with the counties and offering to pay the tab or a large part of the tab. Why is the bill not being paid by the people responsible for the failure? Why is AVS not being told to pay for any necessary actions by the counties? And why aren’t the League of Women Voters, Common Cause PA, and local and state election integrity groups joined together to demand that AVS pay the bill or get out of the state?

It looks like the Democrats may have failed again. The nomination of Hans von Spakovsky, and three other nominees, has passed out of the Senate Rules Committee with a “no recommendation.” His nomination now goes to the floor for debate (maybe). Sen. Nelson (D-NE) told the committee chair, Feinstein, that he would vote for von Spakovsky, thus going against a whole list of civil rights organizations and members of the House who are against the nomination of von Spakovsky. I guess von Spakovsky can share today’s “Enemy of Democracy” with his new bestest friend, Sen. Ben Nelson....

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

Today finds a mixed bag of articles. There is more about the Ohio study that is beginning right away according to the SoS Office.

See below for links to today's mixed bag...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

We were encouraged earlier this year when two states announced their plans to do a complete review of their voting systems. California has now completed their “Top-To-Bottom Review” and has taken action on all but the three Document Review papers that have yet to be released. Ohio got off to a slow start with their “Evaluation and Validation of Election Related Equipment, Standards and Testing” (EVEREST). It’s hard to figure out what is happening and how valid this project will now be. The State Controlling Board has now given SoS Brunner the money she needs to conduct the project but they have thrown in some questionable requirements. Local election officials now have an advisory role in the testing and a say in any recommendations. The Board has also provided the technical testing standards that will be used and requires participants in the study to have insurance to make sure counties don't have to pay to repair or replace any machines damaged by tests. Two weeks ago they were concerned about the bias of some academics who were involved in the project. Now they are building bias into the whole system.

That story, and all of today's other notable voting news stories, linked below...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

In Nevada ex-Secretary of State and now Congressman Dean Heller likes to tell anyone who will listen why he dislikes HR-811 and all about the amendments he has added to the bill. He falsely claims to have “inserted” amendments that would exempt Nevada from the requirements of the bill and another that would require English-only instructions on the voting machines. Heller also falsely claims that Nevada is the only state that has established a paper-trail on its voting machines, avoiding lawsuits. He then goes on to claim that passage of HR-811 would erase all of the advances made by the state; advances that were taken when he was SoS, by the way. It appears that Congressman Heller has no problem at all misleading his constituents and the local media who report his false statements. Congressman Dean Heller, today’s “Enemy of Democracy.”

That story, and today's other notable voting news stories, all linked below...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

Over the past week the media and the blogs have been filled with articles in support of a report negative on voter-verified paper audit trail requirements. Though the articles have found fault with parts of the report from the new on the scene Information Technology and Innovation Foundation they all agree on one thing; more technology added on to DRE voting machines is good and vvpat is bad. This new think-tank, ITIF, wants more software and gimmicks to be added to the present DREs. They say it will make the machines verifiable. In fact, it’s nothing more than software and gimmicks. It’s more expense for the counties who must pay more for licensing, updates, bug repairs, certification costs, etc. I have an innovation. Let’s recycle the DREs, use paper-ballots, and let the fine folks at ITIF think about how they can improve some other aspect of our lives like the long waits at the airport or global warming. This all makes the ITIF today’s “Enemy of Democracy” award winner.

And with that caveat, links to today's notable voting news stories follow below...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

What is more important; verified accurate elections or results reported on election night? San Francisco election officials would have us believe election night reporting is the most important as they whine about how the decertification of their voting system will cause them to have to spend weeks counting the ballots; a clearly childish and false claim. Why isn’t the verified accurate count of our votes more important than election results being announced on election night or even the next morning?

The Secretary of State of Washington and the County Auditor’s Association argue against any audit of the votes counted on optical-scan machines. We are a vote-by-mail state so well over 70% of the ballots are all counted by optical-scan. I find it to be amazing that they would argue against ensuring every vote is counted correctly. The only reason they would make those arguments is cost or early results. Neither of those reasons should take precedence over my vote being counted accurately.

Those stories, and all of today's other notable voting news, linked below as usual...