Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org
Ohio counties have begun to fight back against SOS Brunner’s dictate that all DRE counties must provide a paper ballot for anyone who wants one. Counties are wringing their hands over how much longer it will take them to count the ballots — a threat heard often from California counties. Of course they dismiss the fact that an accurate count of ballots that people can be confident in is much more important than having final results within a couple hours of the polls closing. Let the media wait for the results but count the votes accurately. County officials have also begun to show some concern about the added cost of having ballots printed. This is a valid concern, but would the counties really rather have voters standing in long lines in order to vote on a machine that flips their vote from one candidate to another or let those who want, vote on a paper ballot? They need to spend the extra money and do the right thing.
As usual, all of today’s notable voting news stories, are linked below…
- NAtional: Can You Count On These Machines?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/magazine/06Vote-t.html?ref=magazine - NAtional: Editorial – Remember hanging chads? Problems are still with us
http://www.caller.com/news/2008/jan/05/remember-hanging-chads-problems-are-still-with/ - CO: Voting top priority for Legislature
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/01/04/010508_11a_voting_sidebar.html - CO: Mesa County – Commish: Mail vote not smart
‘Slick campaigns’ lure ‘unsophisticated’ voters
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/01/04/010507_1a_Voters.html - CO: Weld County – Clerk skeptical of mail-in general election ballot
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20080104/NEWS/714243092/0/FRONTPAGE - NJ: New Jersey’s Post-Election Audit Bill: Fact & Friction
http://e-voter.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-jerseys-post-election-audit-bill.html - NY: N.Y. sets timetable on ballot machines
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/NEWS05/801050354/1026/NEWS10 - NY: NY Sets Voting-Machine Upgrade Schedule
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hM24D2P_dBmIDGu_u_mPKthDHpGQD8TVD5S83 - NY: N.Y’s plan: Scan votes
http://www.thedailystar.com/local/local_story_005040147.html - OH: Paper-ballot rule may delay count
55 counties to get extra work
http://www.ohio.com/news/13225547.html - OH: Ohio Can’t Fix Defective Digital Voting Machines; Will Use Paper Ballots
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7009618464 - OH: New rule says counties with touch screen voting must also have printed ballots available
http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19171142&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6 - OH: Ballots will cost county thousands of dollars
http://www.chroniclet.com/2008/01/05/ballots-will-cost-county-thousands-of-dollars - OH: Ohio campus measures legacy of ’04 record-length voting lines
http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/NEWS01/801050311/1002 - OH: Ohio Might Test New Polling Concept at Primary
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/519969/ohio_might_test_new_polling_concept.html - OH: Ashtabula County to stick with its vote system — for now
http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_005003819.html - OH: Portage County – Portage required to provide paper ballots Officials scramble to meet deadline
http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/3093591 - PA: Centre County – Local vote machine issue makes the Times
http://blogs.centredaily.com/the_thin_man/2008/01/countys-vote-ma.html - TN: Report cites flaw in state’s voting
Only 2 counties keep paper trail to verify ballots
http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/NEWS0201/801050360/1009/NEWS - VA: Editorial – Editorial: Expect voter ID to be an issue, alas
The state’s Republican lawmakers are ready again to take on the elusive voter fraud problem, but what of the evident issues damaging Virginia?
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/145934 - WA: King County – Postponement of all-mail election urged
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004108647_elections05m.html - Guam: Final ballot count unavailable
http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/NEWS01/80106004/1002
**”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 BradBlog.Com**
