[Voterescue] Two News Articles and Voice of the Voters TONIGHT at 7 pm

[Karen Renick]

*1. TX attorney general's 2-year effort fails to unravel large-scale 
voter-fraud schemes*
12:35 AM CDT on Sunday, May 18, 2008

By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News
wslater at dallasnews.com
AUSTIN -- More than two years ago, Republican Attorney General Greg 
Abbott pledged to root out what he called an epidemic of voter fraud in 
Texas.

He established a special unit in his office, tapped a $1.4 million 
federal crime-fighting grant and dispatched investigators.

Since then, Mr. Abbott has prosecuted 26 cases -- all against Democrats, 
and almost all involving blacks or Hispanics, a review by The Dallas 
Morning News shows.

The cases usually have resulted in small fines and little or no jail 
time, and for all the extra attention, Mr. Abbott has not unraveled any 
large-scale schemes with the potential to swing elections.

*For rest of story:*
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/051808dnpolvotefraud.3c75dcb.html


*2. Maryland Taxpayers Pay Big Money for Controversial E-Voting System*
Written By: William Beutler
Published In: Info Tech & Telecom News
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Publisher: The Heartland Institute

A new study based on data collected from Maryland state government 
agencies reveals the state's elections now cost 10 times what they did 
in 2002, almost entirely because of the operating costs of the state's 
direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machines.

According to the study from the Maryland voting rights organization 
SaveOurVotes, the DRE machines cost Maryland taxpayers $10.7 million per 
year. As recently as 2003 the total cost of voting equipment, including 
lease payments, was less than $4 million annually. State voting costs 
broke $20 million in 2007, and the State Board of Elections budget 
neared $30 million.

The study, "Cost Analysis of Maryland's Electronic Voting System," 
released on February 25, aims to make Maryland taxpayers feel the 
"sticker shock" of the state's switch to electronic voting.

*For rest of story:*
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=23255

*For "Cost Analysis of Maryland's Electronic Voting System," by 
SaveOurVotes, the Maryland voting rights organization:*
http://www.saveourvotes.org/legislation/2008/08-costs-mdvotingsystem.pdf

*
**3. "The Paradox of Fair Elections: Private Votes, Public Counting"*

*Voice of the Voters! *
*Wednesday, May 21, 7-8 pm Central Time (8-9 pm ET)  *
* 1360 AM Greater Philadelphia & on the Internet www.voiceofthevoters.org*

*TONIGHT
Ellen Theisen of VotersUnite and Susan Pynchon of Florida Fair Elections 
Coalition offer a compelling analysis of the critical components/issues 
surrounding our election process in ensuring (or limiting) a Vibrant 
Democracy.*

*/How does the secret ballot make voting unlike any other "transaction?/**/"

Why does the private vote make public counting necessary?

How public is our vote counting?

How private is our vote?

How does the paradox impact the various types of voting systems
- DREs, optical scanners, mail-in ballots, hand counted paper ballots?

What to do?/*

*Voice of the Voters! is hosted this week by Mary Ann Gould and Lori 
Rosolowsky
with John Gideon of VotersUnite.**Org providing important news update..

** Listeners can call in questions live at 856-227-1360 and submit 
questions in advance at the Voice of the Voters! Website. Internet. 
Access also at http://wnjc.duxpond.com/ <http://wnjc.duxpond.com/>

Archived Voice of the Voters! programs can be found at 
www.voiceofthevoter* *s.org
*
*Guest Bios:*

*Ellen Theisen*, founder of VotersUnite.Org, is Co-Director and Managing
Editor of VotersUnite! In her 22-year career as a software technical
writer, she has written hundreds of user manuals, functional and
design specifications, online help systems, and programmer guides.
Ellen created and maintains the VotersUnite! website, developing most
of the informational resources available on the site.

*Susan Pynchon* is the founder and executive director of Florida Fair
Elections Coalition, based in Volusia County, Florida. Her fight for
fair elections began in 2004 with her investigation into voting
irregularities in Volusia County. Since then, she has worked full time
as a volunteer investigator and reporter of the pitfalls of electronic
voting systems. She has been featured in national print and broadcast
media outlets, including Lou Dobbs Tonight and the Emmy-nominated
documentary film, Hacking Democracy. She initiated and sponsored
Florida's first statewide election reform conference in 2005, which
has become an annual FFEC event and has helped to build an extensive
network of voting reform groups and individuals around Florida.
Pynchon and FFEC co-founder Kitty Garber conducted a year-long
investigation of the 18,000 uncounted votes in the 2006 U.S.
Congressional District 13 race in Sarasota County. That race, which
was decided by a mere 369 votes, was the subject of two court cases,
two state audits, and a U.S. Congressional investigation. Based on
their forensic review of over 10,000 documents from that election,
Pynchon and Garber concluded that massive failures of the electronic
paperless touchscreen voting machines contributed to the lost votes,
contradicting the findings of the state audits and the federal
Government Accountability Office. Their report, "Sarasota's Vanished
Votes," has been referenced in media reports and university studies
about the controversial CD-13 race.

On May 17, Pynchon was one of four recipients of the Nelson Poynter
Civil Liberties Award by the ACLU of Florida, an honor she shared with
3 other Florida election integrity activists: Kindra Muntz of the
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, and Pam Haengel, and Dan McCrea
of the Florida Voters Coalition. The Poynter Award, which has been
given annually for the past 29 years, is named for the former
crusading editor of the St. Petersburg Times, who fought racial
segregation, defended the right of a free press, exposed corruption in
government, supported the rights of the elderly and the poor, and led
the fight for the Sunshine Law, opening Florida's government to public
scrutiny and accountability. Past recipients of the Poynter Award
include the late Florida governor LeRoy Collins, who was recognized
for his courageous leadership in upholding racial justice and opposing
the death penalty; Florida Supreme Court Justice Gerald Kogan; Florida
Bar Association President Chesterfield Smith; Immigrant Rights
Attorney Cheryl Little; and, in 2007, author and columnist Carl
Hiaasen.

Coalition for Voting Integrity

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