Mike Connell, GOP IT Guru Killed in Solo Plane Crash
December 21, 2008
Said Recently Threatened by Karl Rove, Had Beeen Key Witness in OH '04 Election Fraud Case
Built Alternate WH Email System, Websites for Bush, McCain, Swiftboaters, '04 OH Election, More...
By Emily Levy
The Akron Beacon Journal is reporting that the private plane of the GOP's highly-placed "IT guru" Mike Connell's went down in Lake Township, Ohio on Friday evening. Connell was killed in the crash and is reported to have been the only person on board. There are no reports of anyone on the ground being hurt, though his plane crashed in a residential neighborhood.
Minnesota Canvass Board orders count absentee ballots
December 13, 2008
Franken Gets Big Win At Canvass Board
By Eric Kleefeld
Talking Points Memo
December 12, 2008
Al Franken's chances of winning the Minnesota recount may have just gone up astronomically.
The state canvassing board just voted unanimously that absentee ballots that were initially rejected because of clerical errors -- and the current estimate from the hearing is that there could be nearly 1,600 of them, based on some extrapolation -- should be counted, probably the single biggest issue that the Franken campaign has been hammering ever since this recount began, and which really seemed up in the air going into this hearing.
Statement of U.S. Representative Rush Holt To the New Jersey Senate State Government Committee
December 13, 2008
With Respect to Consideration of S. 2380
Rep. Rush Holt
December 11th, 2008
Chairman Scutari, Vice Chair Weinberg, and honorable Members of the New Jersey Senate State Government Committee, thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you today on the matter of S. 2380, a bill to remove the requirement that voting machines produce voter-verified paper records by January 1, 2009, and to replace that requirement with a pilot program for paper records or ballots. I want to commend Assemblyman Reed Gusciora for his leadership and commitment in securing passage of New Jersey’s paper record requirement in 2005, and to express my very deep disappointment and concern not only that New Jersey has failed to implement it, but is now considering possibility of abolishing the requirement and its timetable for implementation altogether.
Bettencourt or no, Dems press forward with voter suit in Harris County, TX
December 13, 2008
Bettencourt or no, Dems press forward with voter suit
By Alan Bernstein
Houston Chronicle
Dec. 10, 2008
The presidential election is in the history books and Harris County voter registrar Paul Bettencourt is quitting, but the Texas Democratic Party is expanding its lawsuit claiming the county illegally has blocked thousands of residents from registering to vote.
"Mr. Bettencourt's late-night resignation announcement is his attempt to avoid bringing to light the inner workings of his office over the past several years and still does not ensure that the problems surrounding Harris County voter registration will be resolved," the state party said Wednesday in a statement distributed by Houston lawyer Chad Dunn.
Investigation: Problems Discovered with Election Equipment in Texas
December 13, 2008
By Mireya Villarreal
WOAI-TV
December 10, 2008
SAN ANTONIO - 500,000 San Antonians turned out to vote last month. A record turnout in an historical election. But for some voters, the experience did not go smoothly. News 4 Trouble Shooter Mireya Villarreal exposes one of election night's biggest problems: The voting machines.
The News 4 Trouble Shooters uncovered more than 400 complaints were filed by election judges and voters this past November. Some of the complaints are so serious, the Bexar County Elections Department is already making changes.
Lessons from the Minnesota recount: Officials look for silver lining
December 13, 2008
By Sharon Schmickle
Minnesota Post
December 11, 2008
In upbeat Minnesota fashion, state officials have said some good lessons could come from the headaches of having to recount the nearly 3 million votes cast in the state's U.S. Senate race.
Indeed, lessons are emerging even before the recount turns into a critical phase next week when the State Canvassing Board is to rule on contested ballots. They range from the handling of absentee-ballots to the recount process to gaps in state election law.
December 13, 2008
By Carl Mrozek
TVTechnology
December 11, 2008
BUFFALO, N.Y. So how many videographers does it take to help the world's foremost democracy achieve its fairest (presidential) election in over a decade? Based on this year's results, perhaps a few thousand or so (beyond the working press). That's how many persons officially participated in "Video the Vote"'s first presidential election effort in 2008. Video the Vote (VtV) was launched in 2006 in response to bipartisan charges of vote stealing, voter suppression and fraud etc. which marred the prior two presidential elections in 2000 and 2004).
Instant runoff voting: saves time and money, and ensures a majority winner
December 13, 2008
By Blair Bobier
LA Times
December 10, 2008
Now that our country has elected a 21st century president, we should reconsider our 18th century electoral system.
Two examples from the seemingly never-ending 2008 election showcase the system's flaws. More than a month after election day, we still don't know who won Minnesota's Senate race. In Georgia's U.S. Senate contest, it took two elections and tens of millions of dollars to produce a winner. Both races could have been resolved quickly and with less expense using instant runoff voting. Because the Constitution leaves it up to the states to decide how to elect their senators and presidential electors, instant runoff voting could be used at all levels of government.
Paralysis at the Federal Election Commission
December 13, 2008
Public Integrity
December 10, 2008
Paralysis at the Federal Election Commission: Image With 3-3 deadlocks common on key issues, often along party lines, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) — made up of three Democrats and three Republicans — has sometimes seemed like it was built for paralysis. 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain has called the commission’s design a “fundamental problem.” The FEC is supposed to enforce the nation’s federal campaign finance laws. But even in cases of bipartisan agreement that a campaign or committee has violated those laws, the FEC’s lengthy investigation process means there can be no punishment until after the election is long past. And in 2008, the FEC’s inability to exercise meaningful control of the most expensive presidential election ever ran into an even more serious impediment: lack of a quorum. With the terms of three commissioners expired and one other seat vacant, President George W. Bush and the U.S. Senate’s Democratic majority engaged in a procedural stand-off over the confirmation of new commissioners from December 2007 until late June 2008. As the campaign steamed along and questions and controversies arose, there was literally no one there to field them — leaving the nation’s elections without a referee.
Election Assistance Commission Has Not Met Mandates
December 13, 2008
Public Integrity
December 10, 2008
Election Assistance Commission Has Not Met Mandates: Image Established in response to the chaos of the 2000 election, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), by many accounts, has been ineffective thus far in smoothing out the nation’s voting problems. The commission, created as part of the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA), is an “independent, bipartisan commission” tasked with “developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse of information about election administration,” as well as accrediting testing laboratories and certifying voting systems. Former President Ronald Reagan called the right to vote “the crown jewel of American liberties,” but after the controversial 2000 election, Democrats and Republicans agreed major legislation was needed to address serious problems in the election system. The EAC got off to a stumbling start, chronically short of funds – receiving only $1.2 million of $10 million authorized in 2004 – and unable to secure office space for its first two years. Subsequently, the commission came under significant criticism — including multiple reprimands from the Government Accountability Office — for its failure to establish and maintain a clearinghouse of information on how state and local governments implemented guidelines and operated voting systems. The EAC admitted it was “resource constrained” in its ability to ensure voting systems “perform securely and reliably.”
