All this and more in today's voting news below...
AK: Murkowski's Write-in Bid Could Test Alaska's Dubious Diebold E-Voting System
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=8078 The three-way race, along with Democratic candidate and Mayor of Sitka Scott McAdams, could prove to be a serious challenge for Alaska's historically-dicey optical-scan voting system made by Diebold. Given the shortcomings of the system which otherwise employs the concealed vote-counting of centrally tabulate ballots, the need to hand-review write-in votes this November could present a unique opportunity for citizens of the 49th state to oversee at least some of their own electoral system --- for a welcome change.
CT: LGWCT: Voters Guide to Secretary of the State Candidates
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/lgwct-voters-guide-to-secretary-of-the-state-candidates/
The League of Women Voters have published a guide to the Secretary of the State Candidates, listing their qualifications and their responses to two questions
click here assigned_to_the_wrong_voting_district.html http://tinyurl.com/27yncxh
Hoylman said the error could've affected yesterday's election as well as previous elections. "It bewilders me that all these years went by and no one challenged it," he added.
IL: Court fight possible over early-voting site on UI campus
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2010-09-16/court-fight-possible-over-early-voting-site-ui-campus.html
MD: Md. needs to switch to paper ballots
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-paper-ballot-letter-20100920,0,417348.story In response to your editorial, "How the Votes are Counted"
MN: Revamped voting procedures, meant to avoid 2008 recount hassles, begin today for general election
click here meant_to_avoid_2008 _recount_hassles_ begin_today_for_general_election http://tinyurl.com/2a9b29j
Given the recent polls, and yet another three-way race for a statewide office, some officials are preparing for another 2008-style recount in an election that's sure to attract 2 million voters.
NM: County Clerk concerned by lax third-party voter registration rules
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_16099262
LAS CRUCES - Doà ±a Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins said this week he remains concerned about the laxity of a law that allows non-county groups to register voters.
NY: 71 New York poling stations opened late Tuesday *
http://blastmagazine.com/the-news/new-york-news/2010/09/71-new-york-poling-stations-opened-late-tuesday/ According to the New York Times, 71 polling locations opened late due to missing or malfunctioning machines. With polls scheduled to open at 6 a.m., some voters experienced a delay of up to 4 hours.
OH: Lawsuit seeks end to Cuyahoga voters' edge in casting ballot by mail
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/09/lawsuit_seeks_an_end_to_cuyaho.html
They want to block counties like Cuyahoga and Franklin from mailing absentee ballot applications to all registered voters, from paying return postage on the applications and from paying return postage for the completed ballots. Or, they argue, the state should help pay to offer that same service in all 88 counties.
SD: Early voting in Shannon County encounters roadblocks
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_bf831c0e-c2df-11df-a9e0-001cc4c002e0.html
Early voting for the Nov. 2 election begins Monday throughout South Dakota.
But in troubled Shannon County, voters cannot cast an early ballot without traveling to Hot Springs in Fall River County or applying by mail for an absentee ballot.
TN: Shelby County Election Commission, Democrats prepare for trial over voting irregularities *
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/sep/19/commission-dems-prepare-for-election-trial/
Pynchon and Harris have released long subsequent reports claiming many problems. They say records show that election commission officials improperly accessed voting databases, that officials misused computer identities in order to access databases inappropriately and even manipulated data in order to "hide" things from the public.
Last week, they released a report in which they claimed that there were 3,221 more "votes cast" than recorded "participating voters."
The election commission says those so-called "over votes" are connected to three-page long absentee ballots, and that the report misinterprets voting data.
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