All this and more in today's voting news below...
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CO: We need your help!
http://coloradovotergroup.blogspot.com/2010/10/we-need-your-help.html The Colorado Attorney General's office has issued an opinion (October 15th email below) that, if left unchallenged, would essentially shut down independent oversight of elections.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-10-04/news/fl-josue-larose-election-20101004_1_political-parties-republican-ken-pruitt-josue-larose
Guam: Major election changes needed (argues FOR electronic voting)
http://www.guampdn.com/article/20101017/OPINION02/10170318/1014/OPINION/Major-election-changes-needed Electronic voting machines prevent party crossovers and voting for more than 15 senators, because the machines will not permit the voter to do so. Blind voters, who could vote using an audio feature, no longer can vote alone and require someone to assist them in marking their ballots.
IL: "Whiteygate" Reveals Serious Problems With Black-Box Voting Machines
Statement by Rich Whitney, Green Party Candidate for Governor
http://www.whitneyforgov.org/%E2%80%98whiteygate%E2%80%9D-reveals-serious-problems-with-black-box-voting-machines
On October 12, we learned from an early voter in Chicago that there was a problem with the early voting machines. He cast his ballot for me, Rich Whitney, Green Party candidate for Governor. My name was spelled correctly on the first screen, but when it went to the "review screen," my name appeared as "Rich Whitey," with the letter "n" missing. At the review screen, any voter who was confused or troubled by the thought of voting for "Rich Whitey," then had an option to change his/her vote.
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Mr. Neal attributed the error to a Toronto-based private contractor known as Dominion Voting, probably the largest single provider of electronic voting machines in the nation.
IL: Correction: Illinois Ballot Mistake story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/15/AR2010101507013.html
CHICAGO -- In a story Oct. 15 about a mistake in Chicago's electronic voting machines, The Associated Press erroneously reported the way a gubernatorial candidate's name appears on a ballot review touch-screen. The screen lists the candidate as "R. Whitey," not "Rich Whitey" as the AP reported
IL: Batavia Cares coordinator upset over ballot mishap*
http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2010/10/15/75351233/index.xml
The fact that 21 counties in Illinois including Kane missed the deadline to mail out military and overseas ballots bothers the leader of a Batavia organization that offers support to U.S. military members.
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Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham said Thursday that the ballots were mailed two days late because of a snag that occurred when county board member John Fahy, R-West Dundee, withdrew from the ballot.
Cunningham said if the office had sent out the ballots on time, he would have had to re-mail them later at an additional cost, and said the re-mailing would have gone out Sept. 27 or 28.
KY: Elliott officials indicted for vote buying
http://themoreheadnews.com/local/x154634954/Elliott-officials-indicted-for-vote-buying Elliott County Judge-executive David Blair and his son Barry Blair have been indicted by a federal grand jury for misuse of government funds and vote buying.
A federal indictment summons was served Oct. 13 on Barry Blair, retired fish and wildlife officer and former Elliott County deputy judge-executive. David Blair's summons was served Oct. 14.
KY: Felony vote-buying conviction won't stop Knott official's run
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/10/15/1481465/felony-vote-buying-conviction.html
Knott County Judge-Executive Randy Thompson may run for re-election despite a federal felony vote-buying conviction, a state appeals court ruled Friday.
Because Thompson's appeal of his 2008 conviction is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, he is eligible to run.
NC: Elections chief says 'no conspiracy' in voting machine glitch
click here
voting_machine_glitch http://tinyurl.com/24dk639 New Hanover County Elections Director Bonnie Williams says during that first day voting machines were choosing the wrong candidate. That has some people questioning the integrity of the board of elections.
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"I know this sounds disturbing, but it's simply an issue that the touch screen lost its calibration," Williams said. "There's no conspiracy. The Board of Elections operates in a non-partisan fashion, and we really don't have a preference as to who wins the election."
NC: Instant runoffs mean changes on the ballot
http://fayobserver.com/articles/2010/10/14/1039292?sac=Home
Attempts to explain the process have the candidates worried about potential voting problems.
"No one seems to really know about it," Hill said. "I'm very concerned."
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