Gliches in Touch Screen Machines in Fairfax
According to the local The Connection newspaper, "A glitch with some of the City of Fairfax’s voting machines on Election Day could raise questions during the expected recount pending for Virginia’s U.S. Senate race." However, since the machines left no paper record, no actual recounts were possible. One candidate declared victory and the other conceded defeat since no means was available for determining which candidate voters actually preferred.
FBI Investigating Voter Intimidation in Virginia
"The head of the Virginia Board of Elections, Jean Jensen, tells MSNBC that 'the FBI is now investigating allegations of voter intimidation and voter suppression.' State officials have documented 'dozens of phone calls that were made to heavily Democratic precincts in which the people who were receiving the calls were either given incorrect information about polling sites [or] misdirected about election laws.' "
Election Reform Organizations in Virginia - Volunteer!
New Electoral Reform Alliance for Virginia
"A coalition of over one hundred Virginians who support common sense reforms aimed at making our electoral system work better."
"A coalition of over one hundred Virginians who support common sense reforms aimed at making our electoral system work better."
Call to Action!!!!!
Provisional Ballots
Introduced by federal law in 2002 as part of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), the provisional ballot was designed for voters whose registration was in question. Initially proposed by the Congressional Black Caucus, it was to save the rights of those wrongly purged from voter rolls.
HAVA provisional ballot law allows election officials to give provisional ballots to any persons who:
- show up at the polls on Election Day but find that, for whatever reason, their names are not on the voter rolls; or
- have their right to vote challenged by an election official. (Note: In many locations it’s not just election officials, but also partisan observers who challenge voters).
ACTION: Check with www.CanIVote.org to see if you are registered. They also need to ensure their ID matches the voter registration name exactly. Voters can be challenged over minor things, such as a middle initial on their ID while the voter roll has a full middle name listed. Next, check to be sure your polling place has not moved.
Read The Truth About Provisional Ballots.
New Voter Identification Laws
Many states have passed laws that require citizens to provide a photo identification piece proving that they are indeed citizens. A driver’s license and a birth certificate are inadequate because the former doesn’t prove citizenship and the latter doesn’t provide a photo. A passport does qualify. As the state supreme courts review these new laws, many have already been struck down as unconstitutional because they are barriers to voting.
ACTION: All citizens should check with their Secretary of State’s office to ensure what the current requirements are. If a photo ID is required, a protest should be lodged as to the unconstitutionality of the law.
Join the Transparency Project
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6389
November 4, 2006
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-70292sy0nov04,0,1968190.story?coll=dp-news-local-final
Two Newport News election lawsuits dismissed
Newport News Daily Press
NEWPORT NEWS, VA -- A panel of Newport News Circuit Court judges has dismissed two lawsuits that accused the mayor, the voter registrar and a councilman of fraud in connection with the May 2 election.
Pricillia Burnett, who tried to unseat Mayor Joe Frank, filed a lawsuit against Frank and Voter Registrar Vicki Lewis on June 2, claiming that faulty voting machines and equipment kept some votes from being counted.
Shaun D. Brown, who ran against Councilman Joseph Whitaker, filed a similar suit on June 2 against Lewis and Whitaker, but Brown also accused Whitaker's campaign of giving "the perception that votes are being bought and sold from election to election." More...
Some Voting Machines Chop Off Candidates' Names in Virginia
Computer Glitch Affects Voters in 3 Jurisdictions; Error Cannot Be Fixed by Nov. 7
By Leef Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 24, 2006; B04
U.S. Senate candidate James Webb's last name has been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville because of a computer glitch that also affects other candidates with long names, city officials said yesterday.
Although the problem creates some voter confusion, it will not cause votes to be cast incorrectly, election officials emphasized. The error shows up only on the summary page, where voters are asked to review their selections before hitting the button to cast their votes. Webb's full name appears on the page where voters choose for whom to vote. More...
For a daily update of election news in your state go to www.votersunite.org, click on "Daily Voting News" for the appropriate date and a set of news articles will come up listed alphabetically by state.
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