Article: 'Daily Voting News' For October 05 and 06, 2007

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 the voter....

NAtional: Costs for Elections Differ in Ohio, W.Va. LINK

NAtional: A Call For Change LINK

NAtional: Paperless Voting is an Accident Waiting to Happen LINK

CA: Alameda County - Opinion - Election bumbling LINK

CA: San Mateo County - County's e-voting machines pass test LINK

CT: Volunteer testifies as primary fight goes on LINK

FL: Sarasota County - Florida Voting Machines Under Scrutiny Again LINK

FL: Sarasota County - Opinion - A longer look at touch-screens GAO investigation could clear up doubts about voting technology LINK

IN: Marion County - Absentee Ballot Requests Up LINK

KY: Grayson: Time to change some voting rules LINK

MT: Opinion - Voting machines must be tested before and after state elections LINK

NC: Cary - Editorial - The count in Cary A plan designed to eliminate the need for costly, poor-turnout runoff elections is set to be tried in Cary on Tuesday LINK

NY: Opinion - N.Y.'s voting fights LINK

PA: Lackawanna County - County still trying to reassure voters LINK

PA: Northampton County - County ready to rule out voting machines LINK

VA: Registrars say system has glitches As next month's election looms, many say the statewide voter database is a major headache. 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 OpEdNews.Com**