Feed aggregator

This analysis was published at MinnPost.com (http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2009/06/30/9951/impressive_unanimity_the_historical_significance_of_coleman_v_franken#4-9951).Now that Norm Coleman has conceded in the aftermath of today's unanimous Minnesota Supreme Court...

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has released a report on voter registration statistics in accordance with the National Voter...

The House leadership should make passing Mr. Holt?s bill a priority. Few issues matter as much as ensuring that election results...

VerifiedVoting.org praised U.S. Representative Rush Holt's introduction today of HR 2894, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2009....

No Excuse Absentee, Absentee Tracking and Election Integrity Bills Approved A package of election reform bills sponsored...

This article was posted at Wired.com's Threat Level blog (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/voting-machine-adds-nearly-5000-ballots-to-tally/) and is reposted here with permission of the author.A software...

This article was posted at the Freedom to Tinker blog (http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/felten/internet-voting-how-far-can-we-go-safely) and is rreposted here with permission.Yesterday I chaired an...

Internet voting is potentially prone to manipulation and distortion. This article originally appeared in the Hawaii Reporter.Penny wise, pound foolish....

Recently the Huffington Post published an article about Hawaii's recent Internet and phone-based elections ( America's Newest State Holds...

A Coalition Of Voting Rights Advocates Challenged Illegal Voter Registration ProceduresA coalition of voting rights groups and attorneys today praised...

Co-Editors: Dave Klein [15] and John Washburn [16]

While the goals of the U.S. and the Philippines seem to be the same regarding elections --- fair and fraud-free, their methods are diametrically opposed. The Philippines is desperate to get away from paper ballots and automate their elections, and the U.S., having been there done that, is heading in the opposite direction.

Happy Independence Day! We're taking the weekend off....

• National: New York Times, Rep. Holt, Still Misrepresenting Contents of Controversial Election Reform Bill
  http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7273 [17]
• IL: Judge to decide if uninitialed ballots count in RI race
  http://www.qctimes.com/n...e-a392-001cc4c002e0.html [18]
• MI: Clerks say overseas military balloting needs fix
  http://www.lansingstatej...01/907030331/1002/NEWS01 [19]
  (A sensible solution in our opinion.)
• MN: Another “winner” in a tied election
  http://www.lewrockwell.c...wrw/archives/028772.html [20]
• TX: Texas Legislature begins special session
  http://www.athensreview....cal_story_182232901.html [21]
  (Voter ID bill will not be included.)
• Iran: Unfolded Ballot Slips in the Boxes
  http://www.roozonline.co...-slips-in-the-boxes.html [22]
• Philippines: Enrile raises more election questions
  http://www.manilatimes.n...tories/20090704top2.html [23]
  (Quote from the article: But Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said, “Under the Constitution, Congress is supposed to be the canvasser for president and vice president. But if the election is automated, what will we canvass?”)
• Philippines: Enrile warns poll officials
  http://newsinfo.inquirer...ile-warns-poll-officials [24]
  (Quote from the article: Election officials will end up in jail if they fail to either automate or prepare for the manual balloting next year, Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile warned on Friday.)
• Philippines: 'Automation only way vs. poll fraud'
  http://newsinfo.inquirer...n-only-way-vs-poll-fraud [25]
• Philippines: Catholic schools pray for miracle to save poll automation
  http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/9450 [26]
• Philippines: Comelec readies charges against automation firm
  http://www.manilastandar...m/?page=news1_july2_2009 [27]

Published by VotersUnite.Org [28]
Ellen Theisen [29], Director and Managing Editor
Dave Klein [15], Editor
John Washburn [16], Editor

Daily Voting News was founded on February 6, 2004 by John Gideon (1947-2009). To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to dvn-tips [30]. To donate, click here [31]

"To encourage citizen ownership of transparent, participatory democracy." The Creekside Declaration. March 22, 2008

**Articles and commentary included in "Daily Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Daily Voting News, VotersUnite.Org [32], or BradBlog.Com [33]. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers' ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news, research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.**

[34]

[See update below for exclusive source details from Alaska...FURTHER UPDATE now added below: AK sources say 'embezzlement' scandal related to Palin's house, federal indictments may be in offing. MUCH MORE now added below...]

Palin resigns [36]. She was to have been in office until 2010. Something else is going on here above and beyond what she's saying, though I don't know what yet. Josh Marshall seems to agree, noting in his "first signs of what happened" coverage [37]:

[T]his clearly happened so quickly that Palin hasn't even had a chance to come up with a coherent cover story for her resignation. ... Remember that based on the public record, Palin is a wildly unethical public official, guilty at a minimum of numerous instances of abusing her authority as governor. And a lot of very damaging information has come out about her in the last few days --- though mainly embarrassing information about her character rather than new evidence of bad acts. I would not be surprised if this latest round of revelations shook something else loose that we haven't heard about yet."

I'd expect another shoe to drop very soon here...Looking into it...More shortly here...

UPDATE: Alaskan Sarah Palin authority (and occasional BRAD BLOG [33] guest blogger) Shannyn Moore, who broke the news at HuffPo today [38], tells me she believes, with good reason, that there is an "iceberg scandal that's about to break. She's doing damage control."

She says Palin is "resigning as part of damage control" due to a scandal that is "not of a family nature." ...

"The governor would not be able to continue her job when it comes out," she told me on the phone just now, before adding: "Why would Mark Sanford not resign, but Sarah Palin did? Her family didn't even know about the resignation until they were standing with her by the lake" when she made her announcement.

Yes. It seems another shoe, apparently a big one, will indeed be dropping, likely within the next week or so. Perhaps earlier now that everyone will be poking around up there.

FURTHER UPDATE: Okay, I've now been able to get independent information from multiple sources that all of this precedes what are said to be possible federal indictments against Palin, concerning an embezzlement scandal related to the building of Palin's house and the Wasilla Sports Complex built during her tenure as Mayor. Both structures, it is said, feature the "same windows, same wood, same products." Federal investigators have been looking into this for some time, and indictments could be imminent, according to the Alaska sources.

The BRAD BLOG [39] has not been able to receive confirm from any federal sources on this. Our information comes from local Alaskans who follow Palin, and who have been keeping an eye on this for some time, while keeping it quiet at the request of federal investigators.

A bit more now follows the video below...

* * *

With all of the above in mind, her rather manic, rather rambling, rather bizarre announcement (as seen below, via RAW STORY [40], text transcript here [41]), seems to make a bit more sense, I'd say...

* * *

LATE UPDATE: It appears that the questions about Palin's house and the sports complex made their way through the media and blogosphere during the campaign last October. "Glic" over at DailyKos [42] has collected some of the notable coverage from back then, including these details from the Village Voice on 10/8/08... [43]

THE $12.5 MILLION sports complex and hockey rink that is the lasting monument to Palin's two terms as Wasilla mayor is also a monument to the kind of insider politics that dismays Americans of both parties. Six months before Palin stepped down as mayor in October 2002, the city awarded nearly a half-million-dollar contract to design the biggest project in Wasilla history to Kumin Associates. Blase Burkhart was the Kumin architect on the job-the son of Roy Burkhart, who is frequently described as a "mentor" of Palin and was head of the local Republican Party (his wife, June, who also advised Palin, is the national committeewoman). Asked if the contract was a favor, Roy Burkhart, who contributed to her campaign in the same time frame that his son got the contract, said: "I really don't know." Palin then named Blase Burkhart to a seven-member builder-selection committee that picked Howdie Inc., a mostly residential contractor owned at the time by Howard Nugent. Formally awarded the contract a couple of weeks after Palin left office, Nugent has donated $4,000 to Palin campaigns. Two competitors protested the process that led to Nugent's contract.
...
A list of subcontractors on the job, obtained by the Voice, includes many with Palin ties. One was Spenard Builders Supply, the state's leading supplier of wood, floor, roof, and other "pre-engineered components." In addition to being a sponsor of Todd Palin's snow-machine team that has earned tens of thousands for the Palin family, Spenard hired Sarah Palin to do a statewide television commercial in 2004. When the Palins began building a new family home off Lake Lucille in 2002—at the same time that Palin was running for lieutenant governor and in her final months as mayor—Spenard supplied the materials, according to Antoine Bricks, who works in its Wasilla office.
...
Todd Palin told Fox News that he built the two-story, 3,450-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath, wood house himself, with the help of contractors he described as "buddies." As mayor, Sarah Palin blocked an effort to require the filing of building permits in the wide-open city, and there is no public record of who the "buddies" were.

Also...Max Blumenthal at Daily Beast asks [44] "Did a Scandal Sink the U.S.S. Palin?":

One logical place to start looking is the affair that has Alaska political circles buzzing: an alleged scandal centered around a building contractor, Spenard Building Supplies, with close ties to Palin and her husband, Todd.

Many political observers in Alaska are fixated on rumors that federal investigators have been seizing paperwork from SBS in recent months, searching for evidence that Palin and her husband Todd steered lucrative contracts to the well-connected company in exchange for gifts like the construction of their home on pristine Lake Lucille in 2002.

Blumenthal goes on to report that "Prior to her sudden announcement, Palin gave every indication that she intended to complete her tenure as governor," before detailing her recent activity suggesting exactly that.

Anderson Cooper on CNN just had Palin's top spokesperson, Meg Stapelton, on by phone. She was in New York tonight, while Palin was resigning in Alaska. We report, you decide...

[45]

UpTake.org interviews Senator-Elect Al Franken [47]: "I want to thank the UpTake for what you did during the recount and the contest, for making it so transparent, what the process was, the transparency of it. It was an unbelievable great service."

On that point, we'll concur with Franken wholeheartedly. Their coverage alone helps makes specious, partisan propaganda disguised as commentary, like the WSJ's [48], even more laughable and baseless than it already was.

The UpTake's live video, radio and live-blog coverage and analysis of every step in the Franken/Coleman hand-count, election contest, etc. set the standard for the very best of indispensable citizen journalism. Big thanks and kudos are owed Michael McIntee, Noah Kunin, et al! Take a well-deserved victory lap, guys!

[49]

In an unbylined Wall Street Journal editorial [50] (why a liar and sore-loser like WSJ/GOP operative John Fund is so ashamed to put his name on his own writing we'll never know...okay, maybe we do), the once-respectable paper shamelessly asserts: "Mr. Franken now goes to the Senate having effectively stolen an election."

In response, we'll associate ourselves with TPM's Eric Kleefeld's take on it [51], calling it "an essay that is so full of factual errors and distortions about what happened, it can drive you nuts if you'd spent countless hours following all the gritty details like I did."

It's all par for the cowardly John Fund [52] course, of course.

But since the sore-losing, sour-grapes, tin-foil hatted conspiracy theorists of the Wall Street Journal have taken the opportunity to propagandize the transparent Franken/Coleman election results by comparing them to the 2004 Washington state Gubernatorial race, where the Democratic candidate Christine Gregoire defeated Republican Dino Rossi during a long, sloppy post-election contest and court case, let's remind folks for the record, here in the reality-based community, what the judges in each case found in regard to the keyboard wingnut claims of "fraud"...

Judge John Bridges' finding in the '04 WA contest, as we noted in June '05 [53]:

"There is no evidence that ballots were changed, the ballot box stuffed or that lawful votes were removed from either candidate's ballot box," Bridges said.
...
On the Republicans' fraud charge, the judge repeated the fact that there was no official fraud claim in the case, but then said that in any case, he saw no evidence of fraud.
...
There is no evidence that the problems in King County had anything to do with "intentional misconduct or someone's desire to manipulate the election" or "partisan bias," the phrase Republicans used to allege wrongdoing.

"There is no evidence before the court to question ballot security as to those ballots actually counted," Bridges said, knocking down another Republican claim about King County.
...
[Republican Secretary of State Sam] Reed criticized the Republican efforts to claim vote fraud without producing convincing evidence.

"I think if they were going to allege fraud, they should have done it in the initial filings of the case and I think they should have had proof of fraud, and obviously they didn't do that."

And from the MN Supreme Court's ruling in the '08 MN contest, as we noted yesterday [54]:

The 5 to 0 unanimous ruling of the bi-partisan Minnesota Supreme Court noted "[n]o claim of fraud in the election or during the recount was made by either party" and that "Coleman's counsel confirmed at oral argument that Coleman makes no claim of fraud on the part of either voters or election officials."

In both cases, the Republicans were so thoroughly spanked by the court, that neither of the two candidates appealed the judges' decisions. Apparently the lack of any actual evidence of fraud presented by the Republicans in both months-long cases, is not enough to keep the cowardly Fund-ies from shouting "fraud!" any way.

Wingnuts, the photo above right, taken yesterday in the halls of the U.S. Senate, again courtesy of Kleefeld [55], is for you. Get over it. Move on.

Here endeth the 2008 Election.

The BRAD BLOG [33] covers your electoral system fiercely and independently, like no other media outlet in the nation. Please support our work with a donation [56] to help us keep going (Snail mail, more options here [57]). If you like, we'll send you some great, award-winning election integrity documentary films in return! Details right here... [58]
[59]

[61]IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: California wins one for a change; Where's the beef? Recalled!; Did EPA suppress study from global warming skeptic?... PLUS: Wingnuts lose it over cap-and-trade...All that and more in today's 'End of the World' Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail, E. coli burgers? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com [62] or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com [61].

Download MP3 [63] (6 mins), or listen online here...

Link: Embed:

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (links below): Exxon Mobil will pay $400 million in interest on damages from Exxon Valdez oil spill; EPA releases list of "high hazard" coal waste impoundment sites; Some gray wolves to receive 'protected' status again... PLUS: Judge reverses Bush Administration's creative forest "management" rules...

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

• Conservative Ire Rains on 8 Republicans Who Voted for House Climate Bill [64] (NY Times)
• Lobbying cash paved Waxman-Markey's road to House floor [65] (Greenwire)
• Southern Company Dominates the Climate Lobbying Scene [66]
• As House bill passes, GOP parties like it's 1993 [67] (Greenwire)
• Ailing Henry Waxman said to be improving [68] (LA Times)
• EPA ‘suppression’ story grows, despite shoddy science in report [69] (Grist.org)
• Shock: Hobby Report Deep-Sixed at EPA! [70] (Talking Points Memo)
• Climate Skeptic: "I Was Hoping People At EPA Would Pay Attention" To My Work [71] (TPMMuckraker.com)
• NASA Climate Scientist Gavin Schmidt - a real climate scientist [72] (RealClimate.org):
  So in summary, what we have is a ragbag collection of un-peer reviewed web pages, an unhealthy dose of sunstroke, a dash of astrology and more cherries than you can poke a cocktail stick at. Seriously, if that’s the best they can do, the EPA’s ruling is on pretty safe ground.
• EPA approves California auto emissions standard [73] (Reuters)
• EPA gives California emissions waiver [74] --- The state can develop its own standards on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, though it agrees not to toughen the standards before 2017. Automakers agree to drop lawsuits. (LA Times)
• California Finally Gets the OK to Set Its Own Auto Emissions Standard [75] (Treehugger.com) [emphasis added]:
  The ruling sets a precedent that allows California to tighten restrictions in the future, well after 2016 and the emission standard-sympathetic Obama have come and gone. So even if some future president were to repeal the emissions standard, or elect not to continue it after 2017, California would still be able to tackle the issue itself.
• Kroger, others recall beef in more than a dozen states [76] (USA Today)
• 12 hospitalized in connection with E. coli in beef [77] (AP)
• Kroger seasoning recall follows ground beef alert [78] (Indystar.com)
• E. Coli Confirmed In Nestlé Samples; Cookie Dough Ingredient May Be Source [79] (Washington Post)
• OPINION: When Our Brains Short-Circuit [80] (NY Times) [emphasis added]:
  Evidence is accumulating that the human brain systematically misjudges certain kinds of risks.
  ...
  If you come across a garter snake, nearly all of your brain will light up with activity as you process the “threat.” Yet if somebody tells you that carbon emissions will eventually destroy Earth as we know it, only the small part of the brain that focuses on the future — a portion of the prefrontal cortex — will glimmer.

'GREEN NEWS EXTRA': More green news not covered in today's audio report... See below!

• Exxon to pay $500 million in interest to spill victims [81]
• EPA reveals 44 higher risk coal ash sites [82] (AP)
• Is Your Town on the List?: EPA's Coal Impoundment Location & Information System [83]
• Gray wolves get federal protection again [84] (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
• Judge Tosses Bush-Era Forest Management Regulations [85] (Greenwire)

[86]

So, imagine if the corporate media had spent even a fraction of the time and resources they've spent going wall-to-wall with around-the-clock "team coverage" of their important "investigation" into the death of Michael Jackson, on any single investigation of any single crime of the Bush Administration.

For example, imagine if they had spent as much time and resources for any single week over the past eight years, on any of the crimes involved with sending us into a war that's killed over 4,000 Americans, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, and has otherwise put our national security at dangerous risk for decades to come.

Some things are important, we guess. Other things aren't. Don't stop till ya get enough. And don't forget to blame the bloggers on the way out. Heckuva job, mainstream media. Don't let the door hit ya...

[88]

Please check out my editorial in response to the Franken election, as published at the UK's Guardian yesterday [89] just after the MN Supreme Court verdict [90]. Here's a taste...

When ballots are counted in secret (or, in many cases, not counted at all), democracy is dangerously imperiled. Lucky for Minnesotans, that wasn't the case up there, even if it meant some eight months without proper representation in the US Congress. It was worth the wait.

Transparency was no match for the conspiracy theorists, including the RSCC [91], the head of the Republican party [92] and even the Republican National Lawyers Association [93], who embarrassingly joined the black helicopter crowd [94] in touting evidence-free claims [95] of Franken's "efforts to steal a seat in the United States [96] Senate."
...
When democracy is visible to all, it works. When it becomes buried behind secrecy, insider tabulations and computerized black boxes, the very basis of our system of government is put dangerously at stake.

Transparency wins again. Along with the voters of Minnesota. Nice to see the voters win one for a change.

Check out the whole thing [89], if only for some of the whacky comments posted by some of the wingnut dead-enders over there. One of them, "MikeMichigan" wrote in response [97] to my piece, channeling every nutball with a primetime show over in Crazy Land (aka Fox "News")...

Oh, and Franken stole the election. The recount was a sham. Coleman was almost 800 votes ahead before the democrat lawyers got involved and started manufacturing votes for Franken and eliminating legal votes for Coleman.

To which I was happy to reply...with some handy info from MN Supremes decision yesterday, as helpfully highlighted today by Media Matters [98]:

The 5 to 0 unanimous ruling of the bi-partisan Minnesota Supreme Court noted "[n]o claim of fraud in the election or during the recount was made by either party" and that "Coleman's counsel confirmed at oral argument that Coleman makes no claim of fraud on the part of either voters or election officials."

Other than that, yeah, "Franken stole the election," but apparently the Republicans forgot to mention any of that, or present any evidence whatsoever for it in their 8 month long contest.

Enjoy your lonely world, MichiganMike...

Good times...

And, oh, yeah, I was also able to point out in the article that of the more than 42,000 voters registered in MN alone by ACORN last year, not a single instance of "voter fraud" was noted by the Coleman/GOP team in their 8-month long election contest and court case. "With all the claims of voter fraud being committed by the group," I noted, "surely this election, of all elections, would be where evidence of all that fraud would finally be revealed for all to see, no? Um, no. Apparently not."

The BRAD BLOG [33] covers your electoral system fiercely and independently, like no other media outlet in the nation. Please support our work with a donation [56] to help us keep going (Snail mail, more options here [57]). If you like, we'll send you some great, award-winning election integrity documentary films in return! Details right here... [58]
[99]

Co-Editors: Dave Klein [15] and John Washburn [16]

As the continuation of John Gideon's valued creation, The Daily Voting News, nears its two-month anniversary, those of us who have been fortunate enough to carry on John's work are beginning to understand what will be necessary for its existence to continue into the indefinite future. At this point, we need to create a "budget" of the potential resources--volunteer time, computer resources, or direct financial donations--that can be devoted to continuing DVN.

Please respond to our survey [101] to help us determine how to proceed. Based on the responses we received from DVN subscribers, the resources we could expect would support a drastically minimized form of DVN, if it were able to continue at all....

• National: EAC Releases Report on Voter Registration
  http://www.eac.gov/News/...t-on-voter-registration/ [102]
• National: Rise and Flaw of Internet's Election-Fraud Hunters
  http://online.wsj.com/ar....html?mod=googlenews_wsj [103]
• DE: State agencies partner to develop new voter-registration system
  http://www.capegazette.c...t/200906/voterreg30.html [104]
• GA: County looks for voting machine sale
  http://metrospirit.com/i...cle_ID=11013006090814588 [105]
• MA: Recount affirms Walpole vote for library tax increase
  http://www.boston.com/yo...irms_walpole_vote_f.html [106]
• MN: Impressive unanimity: The historical significance of Coleman v. Franken
  http://www.minnpost.com/...coleman_v_franken#4-9951 [107]
• MN: Senate election timeline
  http://www.startribune.c...yc:aU1yDEmP:QMDCinchO7DU [108]
• NJ: 'Vote by Mail' Bill Signed Into Law
  http://www.gloucestercit...allots-in-elections.html [109]
• PA: 'Go after ACORN,' judge says
  http://www.pittsburghliv...htrib/news/s_631577.html [110]
• TN: An Answer to the Secretary of State's Q&A on Paper Ballots
  http://www.liberadio.com...tes-qa-on-paper-ballots/ [111]
• WA: Voting shouldn't be this hard
  http://www.pnwlocalnews....ed/opinion/49116182.html [112]
• Canada: Let's try Internet voting
  http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/659047 [113]
• Canada: Guest Blogger Kirk Schmidt on On-line Voting
  http://enlightenedsavage...-schmidt-on-on-line.html [114]
  (A different view from a "geek".)
• Germany: Apprentice postman torches election materials
  http://www.thelocal.de/s...iety/20090630-20293.html [115]
• Iran: Iranian recount results in small increase for Ahmadinejad
  http://jmppiran.com/?p=375 [116]
• Philippines: Happy times back for poll cheats
  http://newsinfo.inquirer...k-for-poll-cheats--solon [117]
• Philippines: Comelec must prosecute if TIM withdraws
  http://www.philstar.com/...icationSubCategoryId=200 [118]
• Philippines: Comelec solution proposed
  http://www.mb.com.ph/art...omelec-solution-proposed [119]
• Philippines: 'Smartmatic has too much power'
  http://newsinfo.inquirer...matic-has-too-much-power [120]

Published by VotersUnite.Org [28]
Ellen Theisen [29], Director and Managing Editor
Dave Klein [15], Editor
John Washburn [16], Editor

Daily Voting News was founded on February 6, 2004 by John Gideon (1947-2009). To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to dvn-tips [30]. To donate, click here [31]

"To encourage citizen ownership of transparent, participatory democracy." The Creekside Declaration. March 22, 2008

**Articles and commentary included in "Daily Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Daily Voting News, VotersUnite.Org [32], or BradBlog.Com [33]. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers' ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news, research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections.**

[121]

It was a "glaring inaccuracy," according to VotersUnite.org's Ellen Theisen last week [122].

Yet, even though it's been more than a full week since the New York Times ran an editorial [123] endorsing Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ)'s new election reform bill, in which they included a huge factual error about the legislation, they have failed to issue a correction. Neither have they even bothered to respond to letters to the editor detailing the error, sent to them when we first pointed out the problem last week [124].

While several aspects of their editorial misled readers about the bill, as we detailed in our original article, one assertion made by the "paper of record" was just out and out incorrect, when they erroneously asserted the following:

Mr. Holt's bill would require paper ballots to be used for every vote cast in November 2010.

On that point, the Times is just plain wrong. Any reading of the bill would quickly reveal as much. Theisen would later call it a "complete misrepresentation."

While the bill, as currently written, would require Direct Recording Electronic (DRE, usually touch-screen) voting machines to print "paper trails" (otherwise known as "voter verifiable paper audit trails" or "VVPAT") by 2010, it decidely does not "require a paper ballot to be used for every vote cast in November 2010." Paper ballots for every voter will not be required by Holt's bill, as it's currently written, and as it's been introduced in the House, until 2014. That's two federal elections away, including one Presidential election. The Times is off by four years in their assertion.

That the NYTimes --- again, known as the "paper of record" for a reason --- would get something as important as that blatantly wrong in an editorial endorsing such a sweeping piece of legislation, is rather incredible in the first place. That they've not bothered to issue a correction, or even respond to a letter pointing out the error, is mind-boggling.

But their appears at least one reason --- though hardly an excuse --- that the Times might have gotten it so wrong. Congressman Holt makes the same wholly erroneous assertion about his own bill on his own Congressional webpage...

One might think that Holt himself would have notified the Times about such an egregious error, particularly since his office and his supporters have been touting the Times endorsement. Apparently they haven't. (Two aides failed to respond to request for comment on this article, though in both cases we received auto-reply emails stating they were gone from the office until after the 4th of July Congressional recess.) But what's worse is Holt's own website making the same incorrect assertion as seen in the Times editorial!

In a bullet point list, described as a "Bill Summary," Holt's web page touting the bill [125], asserts that it:

• Requires a voter-marked or ballot-marking-device paper ballot be produced for every vote cast in time for the November 2010 elections.

That first bullet point is belied by the very next one, which says the legislation [emphasis added]:

• Provides that printer-equipped electronic voting systems used in 2008 elections can be used after 2010 but are to be replaced with paper ballots before the first federal election in 2014.

So in admitting that jurisdictions will not have to offer paper ballots to voters until "the first federal election in 2014," it would appear that his office is simply trying to mislead voters about the legislation.

All of this is no small point. DREs with "paper trails" are no more reliable, or verifiable, than DREs without "paper trail" printers. Only voter-marked paper ballots can be known to reflect the voters' verified intent (presuming chain of custody is kept securely). Holt knows this, which is why his legislation calls for a paper ballot for every voter by 2014.

"They're not correct. That is a complete misrepresentation of the bill," Ellen Theisen of VotersUnite.org [126], a non-partisan election watchdog organization told us during a segment of the nationally syndicated Mike Malloy Show [127] when we were guest hosting last week and asked her about the Times' editorial. We hadn't yet realized, at the time, that Holt's own office had been publicizing the same misrepresentation of his bill.

She pointed out the Times' error as a "glaring inaccuracy" in her "Daily Voting News" newsletter last week [122], "hoping that they would pick up on the fact that they misrepresented the bill," as she explained on the radio. "There could be a lot of people out there thinking 'Yay! We'll have all paper ballots by 2010!' Not realizing [that's] not so," she told us. VotersUnite.org had previously endorsed this year's version of the bill, before withdrawing their endorsement after a last-minute change to a portion of the bill dealing with voting systems for disabled voters.

• Clip from interview with Theisen on this point from the Malloy Show, 6/26/09, [appx. 1.5 mins]...
  [See post to listen to audio]
  [The entire interview with Theisen, discussing other aspects of the Holt bill, and related election matters, can be heard here [128], in the 'HOUR 1' archive, beginning at the :22 minute mark]

The BRAD BLOG [33] has gone out of our way to be incredibly fair in our continuing analysis of Holt's bill as it's changed over the years. By way of full disclosure, we were even asked to help with several drafts of the 2007 version of the bill before its introduction, even though we could not endorse that version of the bill due to its many failures, a fair number of them improved in the latest version. Our most recent analysis [129] of this year's version, filed just before it was introduced this year, notes both the good and bad it offers.

That Holt's office still seems to feel it necessary to deceive the public is disturbing, at best. Regrettably, its not the first time [130] they've employed such tactics.

That the New York Times appears to have been lazy enough to work from Holt's talking points, rather than bothering to read the actual bill itself before endorsing it on its pages, represents our corporate media at its absolutely most shameful. Failing to issue a correction, even after the problem has been pointed out to them, is simply beyond the pale.

The version of Holt's "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2009" (HR 2894) as recently introduced in the U.S. House, can be read here [131].

CONTACT
editorial@nytimes.com [132]
letters@nytimes.com [133]
Contact page for Rep. Rush Holt [134]

[135]

Democracy is made difficult by the fact that electronic voting systems are inherently flawed - and susceptible to fraudThis article...