A bulk of this evening’s news is again from Hillsborough Co Florida where more is being revealed about the audit of the supervisor of elections financial dealings and, of course, the Minnesota senatorial recount where Coleman has taken to the courts in what will probably be a futile attempt to get his seat back....

As expected the Minnesota senatorial recount is going to court.

If you have been reading this space for the past couple of weeks you know that auditors have been asked to review the financial records of Buddy Johnson’s Hillsborough Co Florida supervisor of elections office. Just why did Buddy, the outgoing supervisor, go to the county and ask for $2.3M for cost overruns? It seems the auditors have found more mysteries than they have found answers....

“There can be little doubt that, of the issues springing from elections held since President Bush signed the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), two are among the most significant. Those issues are failures of voting systems to be accessible and accurate and the confusion over the proper use of provisional ballots.”

”The states should have been able to look to the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) for guidance on both issues, but the EAC failed to give the necessary Assistance, thus failing to fulfill duties assigned to the agency by federal law. Now it is proposing to extend its dereliction of duty for another two years.”

Thus begins our featured article. ...

Guest Blogged by John Gideon and Ellen Theisen, VotersUnite.Org

There can be little doubt that, of the issues springing from elections held since George W. Bush signed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, two are among the most significant. Those issues are failures of voting systems to meet the HAVA mandates for accuracy and accessibility and the confusion over the proper use of provisional ballots.

The states should have been able to look to the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) for guidance on both issues, but the EAC has failed to give the necessary Assistance, thus failing to fulfill duties assigned to the agency by federal law.

Now the EAC is proposing to extend its dereliction of duty for another two years. The result will be the publication of these important guidelines a full eight years after HAVA was enacted. The delay is inexcusable and intolerable, and the cost to American elections, on many fronts, is nearly incalculable...

I guess the best I can say about today’s DVN is that it is a little bit of this and a little bit of that....

We would like pass on our hopes that you have a wonderfully successful year in 2009. There will be struggles and there is certainly a lot of work to do including with elections. VotersUnite.Org will spend this year doing all we can to decrease vendor control over elections and hold vendors accountable for their failure to provide the goods and services they promise. We will also work hard to hold those who are supposed to have oversight over elections responsible for their failures. In other words, it will be a busy year this year....

Over a week ago Sequoia issued a press release and a blog item that were misleading in their content. In both cases the headline intimated, amongst other things, that Princeton Professor Andrew Appel was ordered by a New Jersey judge to apologize to Sequoia for supposed violations of a court order. In our featured article the Professor responds to the misleading statements made by Sequoia....

Guest blogged by John Gideon, VotersUnite.Org

In an October BRAD BLOG article we reported that a court-ordered report highly negative of Sequoia Voting Systems products being used throughout New Jersey could soon be released to the public. Prior to the release date, and then again last week, Sequoia Voting Systems attacked both the report and its author, Princeton University computer science professor Andrew Appel.

On December 18, Sequoia issued a press release with a misleading title and subtitle:

And, on the company's blog, written by VP of Communications and External Affairs Michelle Shafer, she continues the lie:

In an email to this writer, Professor Appel responded to what he says are "false statements about me in two recent press releases" from Sequoia. The BRAD BLOG posts his response in full below, with his express permission...

Today we have more from Maryland where the state’s Attorney General has filed a claim against Premier/Diebold to force the vendor to pay for the problems the state’s voting machines have encountered. If every state would do the same thing the vendors might actually realize it is their responsibility to put out a product that they test and warrant against defect. Maybe it is time for the EAC to actually do their job and ensure federal laws with regards to voting systems are met. ...

Yesterday in this space I told you that yesterday would be the last DVN for the week. Well, that was before today’s news. I just couldn’t stay away and there are three stories that I feel are important. First in ‘National’ news are two articles for those interested in Internet voting. Second, as you know I have been discussing Hillsborough Co Florida and the fact that lame-duck election supervisor Buddy Johnson was trying to get $2.3M out of the county to cover cost overruns. Instead of doing as Buddy expected and just giving him the money they began an audit and they are finding more questions than answers. Buddy may have a lot to explain for in the coming months. And from Maryland comes the news that the state has filed an $8.5M claim against Diebold/Premier to cover the state’s costs to fix flaws in the voting system the state purchased from the vendor.

Enjoy the day tomorrow....

This will be the last DVN until this coming weekend. VotersUnite.Org would like to express our wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all who have done so much for our democracy over this past year. Those of you who have been a part of the Election Integrity Community, Election Officials, concerned citizens and voters have all done a masterful job in helping to make our democracy work. Our job is not done yet but we have made strides and we will, with everyone’s help, continue to make strides to protect our democracy. Thank you for your assistance when we have asked for donations. Your help has been very much appreciated and has helped to keep us moving forward. Thank you....

Posted on Thursday is the featured blog by New Jersey computer scientist Andrew Appel. In the blog and linked video Professor Appel shows how easy it is to remove and replace new security seals installed on the machines in New Jersey by Sequoia and the state. The professor also points out that the addition of these security seals is just another smoke-screen from Sequoia. It took him 7 minutes the first time he removed and replaced the seals.

This weekend also finds more from Minnesota including an article by one of the non-partisan observers to the whole recount procedure. Good job by all who have been involved in that process.

We also have an article about Buddy Johnson, the soon to be out of work Hillsborough Co Florida election supervisor who has now dropped his request for $2.3M to cover cost overruns in this past election. Could it be he is nervous that the county has threatened to audit his office to find out how they spent their money? ...

Colorado has a new Secretary of State; the Senate vote recount in Minnesota may have finally shown who won the election; Mississippi and Oklahoma are two of a few states that are looking at how to suppress the vote by requiring VoterID; and more on the Pennsylvania court decision of Tuesday. These and more below:...

From a VoterAction.org press release today...

Hillsborough Co Florida outgoing election chief, Buddy Johnson, wanted $2.3M from the county to cover election cost overruns from the Nov. election. Stupidly Johnson did not bother showing up to appear before the county supervisors so they could ask him questions. The supervisors took his no-show as an insult and they have deferred any decision until they can review the election office’s records.

Meanwhile the Maryland Board of Public Works has approved a contract between the state and Premier/Diebold for $974,000 for six months to cover municipal elections within the state. That contract could add up to $1.4M if two three month options are exercised. All of this even though the state is scrapping their paperless DREs at the end of next year in place of a paper based system.

And, after the reports of Diebold accuracy failures in Humboldt Co., California, the county has decided to scrap their present system and replace it with machines provided by Hart Intercivic. The selection of Hart is a bit strange in light of the fact that Hart has removed themselves from all EAC certification testing. They will not, in the future, have a voting system that has been tested to the voting system standards and certified by the EAC....