Fayette man loses second try at claiming that impersonators voted for dead
By Liz Zemba
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, July 31, 2009

A failed candidate for two Fayette County offices has lost his second try at persuading a judge that impersonators voted in place of dead people in the May primary.

A Commonwealth Court judge Wednesday upheld a lower court's dismissal of a civil suit in which Robert "Ted" Pritchard claimed that it was "beyond outrageous" that he received no votes in at least one precinct in Smithfield.

Pritchard, of Fairchance, ran for constable and district judge in the spring primary but lost both races. In a self-filed motion at the county level, he claimed the county Election Bureau's recent purge of inactive voters — including ones who have died — did not occur. The failed purge, he alleged, allowed "impersonators" to use those identities to cast votes.

In addition to a recount, Pritchard wanted a county judge to order election officials to look into his allegations and to determine whether voting machines were tampered with before the election.

Pritchard appealed in Commonwealth Court after Fayette County Judge Gerald R. Solomon denied the petition.

In a ruling handed down Wednesday, Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Rochelle S. Friedman upheld Solomon's decision and denied Pritchard's request to stay the election.


http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/fayette/s_636109.html

Appeal dismissed in vote recount case
By Jennifer Harr, Herald-Standard
07/30/2009
Updated 07/30/2009 06:15:34 PM EDT
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Commonwealth Court dismissed an appeal filed by a Fairchance man who wanted Fayette County officials to recount votes in two elections he lost in the May primary.


Robert "Ted" Pritchard Sr., who lost in elections for magisterial district judge and constable, argued that the voter removal provisions of the Voter Registration Act allowed for such a request. Last month, Fayette County Judge Gerald R. Solomon indicated that the provisions of the act did not support his requests, and dismissed his suit, prompting Pritchard to appeal.


Commonwealth Court agreed with Solomon's findings.

"(I)n making his argument, Pritchard does not recognize the difference between the relief he sought in the petition and the voter removal requirements," wrote Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Rochelle S. Friedman.

"In his petition, Pritchard did not seek an order mandating that Fayette County comply with the voter removal provisions of the Voter Registration Act. Rather, Pritchard sought an order to compel the board to perform a recount, to ascertain whether anyone voted fraudulently in the election, to ascertain whether anyone tampered with the voting machines, to ascertain whether the machine modules were correct and to ascertain who had access to the authorization code," she wrote.

Pritchard vowed to continue appealing the matter.

"I will appeal it to the Supreme Court, and I will take it to the U.S. District Court. As soon as I get the opinion, I'll be filing a notice of appeal," he said.

Commission Chairman Vincent Zapotosky said he is pleased with the ruling.

"The Commonwealth Court is a very respected judicial body, and I have all the confidence that (an appellate court) will stand by their ruling," he said.

Pritchard ran for magisterial district judge against incumbent Magisterial District Judge Randy Abraham and Senior Magisterial District Judge Brenda Cavalcante.

Abraham bested both on the Democrat ticket, and defeated Cavalcante on the Republican ticket as well, virtually assuring a victory in the fall.

Pritchard did not cross-file, and only appeared on the Democrat ballot.

On the Democratic ticket, Pritchard, who has run for other offices over the years, received 63 votes. Abraham received 3,012 votes and Cavalcante received 970 votes.

The court also denied Pritchard's motion to stop the county from certifying the election results, but granted his motion to throw out the county's brief because it was not filed in time.

Pritchard, who unsuccessfully ran for county sheriff and dropped out of a race for Congress, has announced his plans to mount a bid for lieutenant governor.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20353082&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468520&rfi=6

Strategy Effort to Change Country Through Minds of Children

Tucker Carlson on Fox 'n Friends... discussing children's textbooks... MacMillan Publishing published Reflecting Diversity... recommends words to eliminate or substitute words...

Carlson will host a documentary upcoming on the subject uh pro-ject...

Carlson - CATO Fellow - Fox video

http://www.cato.org/people/tucker-carlson

Disagrees with Fox Nation, etc.

http://www.newshounds.us/christian_crusade/

Paul Curtman Federal Legislators Limited by Constitution Enumerated Powers

Update: Curtman will be interviewed again on Fox 'n Friends before 9 am EST. Don't miss.

Net the Truth Online report

Interviewed on Fox 'n Friends, oh too briefly, Paul Curtman (the former Marine who spoke at Claire McCaskill's town hall meeting ) said the U.S. Constitution provides only 17 specific duties of the federal government and nowhere in it is mentioned "to take over healthcare..." (the public option demanded by such as former Governor Howard Dean).

After a question concerning the bulk of the legislation hasn't even been read by Congress, Curtman further suggested instead of reading those 1,000 pages legislators should be required to read the Constitution aloud on air publicly, maybe on the program, for all to watch. The oath of office as well, he said, should be taken publicly...

Curtman also highlighted the position the Constitution rests on the idea rights are God-given. ...if the government through the legislators can give rights then government can take away rights... he said.

What Curtman said speaking at McCaskill's town hall meeting:

...we have something in common we both at one time took an oath to the Constitution... her oath took her to Washington mine took me overseas with a rifle... in my Constitution that I took an oath to I know that all powers of leg branch of government are confined in Article 1 Section 8 and less than 20 enumerated powers, nowhere in there is healthcare mentioned which is health control... has no business other than to fight against it... mentioned this before to other politicians they take the Constitution and turn it into some kind of huge elastic document that they wrap around everything... if you read the Constitution... the general welfare clause... Founding Fathers ... Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, who father the Constituion, and Benjamin Franklin... every one of them said the general welfare clause only is to be used within the confines of enumerated powers of Article 1 Section 8... not looking for an explanation from Sen. McCaskill, but an apology... this nightmare...

(NTTO unofficial transcript from videos)

clapping drowns out ending words

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/07/28/soldier_wants_sen_mccaskill_to_apologize_for_obamacare_at_townhall.html

Introductory words by aide - video

http://anotherblackconservative.blogspot.com/2009/07/tea-time-for-claire-mccaskills-town.html

video and commentary on Americans for Prosperity

http://www.yourpoliticsusa.com/2009/07/28/corporate-lobbying-org-disrupts-mccaskill-town-hall/

Video Footage Of Claire McCaskill Healthcare Townhall

http://www.24thstate.com/2009/07/video-footage-of-claire-mccaskill-healthcare-townhall.html

Campaign for Liberty (much more video of event and questions)

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=22601

Notice of town hall meeting

http://www.meetup.com/We-the-People-St-Louis-County/calendar/10963718/

Video links to McCaskill town hall meeting

http://www.americansforprosperity.org/072809-scenes-sen-mccaskill-town-hall-meeting-72709

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/07/sen-mccaskills-office-holds-town-hall.html

http://www.wikio.com/video/1463006

Officer With Crowley Black Not Hispanic Health Care Bill Non-Existent

Interview on Lou Dobbs Tonight

This controversy is the subject of our "Face-Off debate." Now joining me, radio talk show host, Joe Madison, WOL in Washington of SIRIUS/XM Radio. Radio talk show host Andrew Wilkow, also SIRIUS/XM.

Gentlemen, great to have you with us.

Andrew, let me start with you. It sounds like the president, who, I don't think anyone would argue, misspoke. Let's keep it as gentle as we can, misspoke. But, it sounds like he's trying to reconcile a mess to which he acknowledges today that he contributed to. That's a positive, isn't it?

ANDREW WILKOW, SIRIUS/XM RADIO: I'm kind of shocked that a guy with such great oratory skills, being a congressional law professors would claim guilty until proven innocent. I mean, "I don' t have all the facts, but the police acted stupidly?" Come on. There's not enough minutia for the president to deal with that he had to step into this one?

DOBBS: Joe Madison, your thoughts? We're sitting here -- the president, today, acknowledging -- he said it sort of interestingly. He continues to believe that Professor Gates did not effectively behave well. I didn't hear him say that the first time. Did you?

JOE MADISON, WOL IN WASHINGTON, D.C.: No, he didn't say it the first time. He clarified it, I think, in Cleveland. But, I think your notes will show when I talked to your produce earlier today, even before the president went into the press room, that this is a learning moment.

The president clearly blew it. Gates probably overreacted. I may have done the same if I had a cold and had gotten off a long flight from China. I think, for example, when I looked at the law in Massachusetts, the police really would not have had a case if he -- if they had not dropped the case on disorderly conduct, because according to a '76 decision, no matter how verbally abusive a person might be, you cannot find them guilty of disorderly conduct.

So, all the way around, three people made mistakes. And the one thing I do applaud the president, is that he now has come forth and says, let's defuse it. So the question is, where do we go as a people, as a country from here. And don't let this one incident -- and I'll conclude with this, absolve the problem of racial profiling, nationwide.

DOBBS: Yeah, you know, Joe's just gone to an issue that is difficult here, because on its face, Andrew, is this racial profiling and what debt do we owe the president of the United States for there being a very close national media examination of the events that happened in Cambridge, Massachusetts?

WILKOW: You know -- we hear the Democrats saying that the stimulus money is going to keep cops on the streets during Election Day. They talked about cops this and cops that. And his immediate reaction is to throw the cops under the bus. To me, this sounds like a way of, you know, boosting the stock of "Race Baiting Incorporated."

I mean, we elected the first Black president. The NAACP is passing climate change resolutions. And you know, it seems like we're -- for some people, they're never going to get -- as long as there is money and attention and votes invested in race baiting, the race baiting is going to continue. This seems to be the natural instinct of a community organizer that, well, it's got to be the cops, got to be the cops, they acted stupidly. I don't know what really happened, but I know the cops are the bad guys, here.

MADISON: Well, I am one who has been profiled probably more times than you have, Andrew, and so has my son. And the point I'm making is that we're not baiting anybody. What we're asking is that we stop the profiling... WILKOW: Well, wait a second. Come on, you're shouting...

MADISON: And I'm not -- excuse me, I didn't interrupt you.

WILKOW: OK, yes, sir.

MADISON: And with all due respect, and I'm not suggesting that this was profiling. What I am suggesting is that two grown men probably got overanxious and excited at each other and neither could find the way to step back. And I think that's really what happened here, and I applaud the president for trying to defuse it. And that's what we've got to do...

WILKOW: But, why did he get involved in the first place? Why was the president of the United States even involved in the first place?

MADISON: Well, because he was -- look, because he was asked a direct question. And I agree, and the president obviously went back the next day in the Oval Office and said, uh-oh, I didn't use the right words. But, you know, if he had been asked a question about Afghanistan or a question about something else and if he didn't answer it directly, we would have criticized him for avoiding it. So, you're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

WILKOW: No, no, Afghanistan is not a question of innocent until proven guilty. He could have clearly said, you know, that's for the mayor of Cambridge to deal with or the police chief of Cambridge to deal with. There was no reason for him to step into this. This has nothing to do with the president of the United States. For him to forwardly admit that he doesn't know and then lay guilt at the feet of a police officer, to me, seems ridiculous for a constitutional law professor.

MADISON: Well, look Andrew, if that's the case, then neither the sergeant nor Professor Gates ought to accept an invitation to the White House.

WILKOW: Well, I mean...

MADISON: So, I mean, come one man.

DOBBS: I don't understand how that follow, Joe.

MADISON: Well, what I'm trying to say, if Andrew is saying, he shouldn't get in it, then maybe the president should come back on and say, you know, I saw Andrew on Lou Dobbs' show, and he's right, I should ought to stay out of it. I'm sorry, I even invited them to the White House. What he's trying to do is defuse a debate -- and quite honestly, we know in part for political purposes so we can start talking about health care.

DOBBS: By the way, and I'm not sure he wants us talking about health care, either, but maybe something else.

(LAUGHTER) WILKOW: I'll talk about health care.

DOBBS: Let's stick with this, if we may, because he talked about a teachable experience, which to me, frankly, sounds like an arrogant piece of condescension to all parties involved, on the part of the White House. I understand they got to spin this out. But, the teachable moment is here for a president who, you know, Andrew put it eloquently, he through the police under the bus.

It was a teachable moment for Professor Gates, who was arrogant, and frankly, aggressive with a police officer, and for Sergeant Crowley, who, teaching as he does, racial profiling with a tremendous record and as you articulated it, Joe, couldn't p find a way out of this mess. So, those are the teachable moments. For the nation, it should be -- I'm sorry, go ahead.

MADISON: No, the only reason I'm interrupting...

DOBBS: And by the way, you're interrupting me as you shamed Andrew for doing.

MADISON: I know, I know, I know.

DOBBS: Say you're sorry, Joe.

MADISON: Go ahead.

DOBBS: No, you go ahead.

MADISON: No, I was going to say, we don't know, because when I interviewed Professor Gates -- and I'll take him for his word, like you are taking the police officer for his word -- Professor Gates told my audience that Sergeant Crowley was arrogant and that's what started it.

DOBBS: Oh yeah, by the way, however you want to characterize Sergeant Crowley, what I didn't take one person's word over the other. But, what I did listen to was telling us, here on CNN, that sergeant Crowley was a rogue officer, which on its face is not borne out by the eyewitnesses there, including a Black sergeant, who was there at the house, nor a Hispanic officer, who was there at the house, at the same time.

But I want to say this, Andrew, I'm delighted to spend some time with you.

WILKOW: I had fun.

DOBBS: Joe, I am delighted to spend more time with you, even if you interrupt me.

MADISON: Well, thank you. We share in that responsibility.

(LAUGHTER)

DOBBS: Don't interrupt me, don't interrupt me. Joe Madison, Andrew Wilkow, thank you both for being with here.

Up next, we'll have more one the Gates arrest controversy. Also, an open and bitter battle between the White House and Congress over health care. Is it failing health care? We'll be talking about that with three of the country's best political thinkers.

And a U.S. Border Patrol agent has shot and killed, murdered on patrol, protecting the people and the border of the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: Joining me now, three of my favorite political analyst, columnist, "New York Daily News," CNN contributor, Errol Louis; editor-at-large, CNN political analyst, "Time" magazine, Mark Halperin; former special assistant to former President George Bush, and former Vice President Dick Cheney, Ron Christie.

Thank you all for being here. Let me start, if I may, with you, Ron. The president seems to be bringing a teachable moment out of what was a controversy, up until about an hour ago -- or is it, in fact, a controversy that will continue beyond the teachable moment, so called?

RON CHRISTIE, CHRISTIE STRATEGIES: Well, I think this is going to be a story that's going to live on for a little while. I think in the short term, it's going to die down, but for the first time, people have looked at President Obama and the Teflon seems to be a little bit removed from him. And I think the president, I think, was very arrogant in the way that he said that the police department acted stupidly. The first thing you learn in law school is that you should never assume fact's not in evidence. The president made an assumption, he shouldn't have done it. He's the president of the United States...

DOBBS: He knew better than that, right? He said he didn't know the facts, but here's the judgment.

CHRISTIE: It's going to be something. And the last thing I would say is that for a president who campaigned to be post-racial and he wanted to move beyond race, he said he was too busy to wade into Tehran, when the Iranian students were protesting, but he immediately jumped in and said, oh, I have an opinion, here. I think it's going to follow him.

DOBBS: Errol?

ERROL LOUIS, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: A mistake, I think, no doubt as he, himself, acknowledged. I would have loved to have been there he walked into the briefing room to sort of dial himself back...

DOBBS: I would have wanted to be in the room before...

LOUIS: Yeah. Well, apparently he realized he had made a serious mistake and the distraction of it, really, was crippling almost, in a way. I mean, because we're not talking about the previous hour that preceded that had remark where he was laying out his hopes and his agenda and his rationale for health care reform, which is very much in danger and he needed and wants the nation's focus on...

DOBBS: And how was this day any different from any previous day, and in that respect?

LOUIS: Well, you know, I mean, if he can get himself back on track, he'll have a chance at his health care reform, but right now, a very unwelcome distraction. He cannot be the explainer-in-chief on race. I mean, that has been clear all along and he really put us right in the middle of it.

DOBBS: He confirmed it this week.

LOUIS: Indeed.

DOBBS: Mark?

MARK HALPERIN, TIME MAGAZINE: I think the teachable moment and the person who's going to learn the first lesson, if he's lucky, is the president, because he cannot do all the things that Ron said, in particular. He cannot go out in front of reporters and wade in on an issue when he admits he doesn't know the facts, whether it involves race or not. This is a huge distraction for them. It will continue into next week. This president does not like what I call the freak show. He does not like the talk radio, 24-hour cable dynamic.

DOBBS: Tell me about it.

HALPERIN: He likes to say he can rise above it and he often does. This was a case, sometime between this morning, when Robert Gibbs said "we're done talking about this," and the afternoon when the president come out and talked about it, when the president had to realize, you can't always transcend it, sometimes you have to give. And that's what he did. I think it probably dies, unless there are new facts, by early next week.

DOBBS: Dying along with it, Ron Christie, his health care initiative, which, by the way, the national media, much of it liberal, styles his reform, which last I looked, was a positive and supportive description, rather than an objective and neutral word.

CHRISTIE: Sure, well, I think the president's health care initiative is on major life support, right now. The president has gone out and campaigned to the American people and said, we're going to have a bill that is not going to raise the deficit by one penny. The Congressional Budget Office has proven that's not true.

The president said he was very much for reforming the system, but the bill making its way through Congress, right now, has very little in the way of systematic and structural reform, doesn't reduce the cost of the health care delivery system and again, it doesn't ensure all American, which he said was his goal. So, I think he's in deep trouble on this one.

LOUIS: Well see, I mean, one thing about the current situation is you have a detailed critique of a nonexistent bill and so the president, it has...

DOBBS: Why in the world are they trying to pass a nonexistent bill?

LOUIS: Well, he's trying to get a bill so that they can get something done. I mean, look, the real dynamic here, I think, is he wants something passed before the end of the year, but really what that means is not so much the calendar year, but the midterm election season, when it heats up in earnest, will be very difficult to get anybody to take any chances.

(CROSSTALK)

DOBBS: ...pushing this into the middle of next year?

LOUIS: Well no, I mean, listen, I've been saying, I don't know other people, I've been saying all along, what he doesn't get in the way of major reform on climate, on health care, what he doesn't get before the 2010 elections really heat up, he very possibly won't get it all, because 2011 signals the re-election season.

HALPERIN: There's two parts to his challenge: the inside game, Congress, and particularly within his own party, and the outside game of public opinion.

In the press conference, he did not make progress, as best I could tell, with either of those two audit dens. He is -- got to get, I think, past the point by saying, I'm -- sort of like that provision, I sort of don't like this provision or that provision. He's got to, I think, if he has a chance, he's going to have to get people in a room and say this is now what I'm for, can we pass this?

DOBBS: For the first time, two polls today, that is, Zogby's interactive poll and Rasmussen Reports poll, shows the president's approval rating below 50 percent. With the incident in -- with the Cambridge police department, he's facing some interesting headwinds, I think is the expression.

HALPERIN: I don't think those polls have him at the right place. I think he's higher. But the trend is certainly down and particularly people looking to him in terms of health care. He is going to have to succeed, I think, again, first in Washington in the inside game to get public opinion back up. I don't think he can rally public opinion, right now, just from a standing start.

CHRISTIE: I think Mark's right on that and I think the president's numbers are going down because he has so personally involved himself in the health care debate. He's made this health care issue about him. People always liked the president for his outstanding personality for what they perceive. Now, they're looking at the president in a policy issue area, and they don't like it.

LOUIS: As it heats up, he's already put out the call to Obama supporters to get a million names on a signature on a petition and so forth, and start putting pressure, the way Reagan used to do, on a recalcitrant Congress. That will, I predict, include Democrats as well as Republicans. The word is he's going into anybody's district he needs to. The battle hasn't really yet been joined on this, but he's going to have to whip his own party into line.

DOBBS: We'll see what happens starting, well, about Monday, I guess. Thanks very much, we appreciate it.



http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0907/24/ldt.01.html

Lou Dobbs Obama Birth Settle Noise

Dobbs clarifies: he's presented what others have questioned, has said all along in his opinion, the President of the USA, Barack Obama is a citizen of the United States... Dobbs says further it would be simple to make all this noise go away if the President would simply show his long form birth certificate...

See Dobbs tonight

Meanwhile, at the end of his program, Bill O'Reilly said Lou Dobbs would be a guest on the Factor, Wednesday.

Bill O'Reilly Slams "Birther" Story But Defends Lou Dobbs's Free-Speech Rights (VIDEO)
digg Huffpost - Bill O'Reilly Slams "Birther" Story But Defends Lou Dobbs's Free-Speech Rights (VIDEO) stumble reddit del.ico.us

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/27/bill-oreilly-slams-birthe_n_245939.html?page=6&show_comment_id=27886210#comment_27886210

Right Wing US conspiracists question Obama's birth certificate
On the fringes of the American right, a growing conspiracy claims that Barack Obama is hiding a Kenyan birth certificate, making him ineligible to serve as president.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5907183/Right-Wing-US-conspiracists-question-Obamas-birth-certificate.html

Fascinating

Is the signature on this letter re-published by WND, authentic to President Barack Obama?

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=104718

Politico July 28, 2009 Birthers back Hawaii-Obama resolution and Discussion

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0709/Birthers_back_HawaiiObama_resolution.html

Politifact investigation

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/

Woman Voted Twice: Absentee and Provisional

Provisional Ballots

Fayette election board rejects 67 provisional ballots
By Jennifer Harr, Herald-Standard
04/30/2008
Updated 04/30/2008 12:15:24 AM EDT

Four others were rejected because the voters were registered in other counties. In one of those, a woman registered in Greene County voted with an absentee ballot there, and then came to Fayette County and cast a provisional ballot.

The other three had registrations in Westmoreland, Washington or Allegheny counties.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19529568&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468520&rfi=6

Fayette election officials throw out 41 ballots

By Liz Zemba
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_565005.html

In Pennsylvania, voters must be registered with a political party if they want to cast a ballot in primary elections.

That didn't stop 41 Fayette County residents who claim no party affiliation from trying to vote in the April 22 primary election.

On Monday, the election board voted unanimously not to count the 41 ballots, which had been cast via provisional ballots. The ballots, which were contained in sealed envelopes, were provided to voters at the polls when questions arose over their eligibility to vote.

Yesterday, the election board reviewed the circumstances behind the ballots to determine whether they should be counted.

County Commissioner Vincent Zapotosky, who along with Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink and attorney Mark Mehalov are members of the three-member election board, said the 41 ballots were ineligible because Pennsylvania does not hold open primaries.

"Only those registered as a Republican or Democrat are being allowed to participate in the primary because there were no questions on the ballot," Zapotosky said.

Voters who are registered Independent or with non-nominating parties can vote in primaries when a referendum appears on the ballot, but they are restricted to voting only on the ballot question.

The board yesterday rejected two provisional ballots because although the voters were registered Republican or Democrat, they voted on ballots for the other party.

Laurie Lint, election bureau director, said a registered Democrat cast a Republican ballot and a registered Republican voted on the Democratic ballot.

Zapotosky questioned whether the voters were erroneously provided the wrong ballots.

"Are we sure we didn't make a mistake?" Zapotosky said. "I would hope you could distinguish between John McCain and Hillary Clinton."

Lint said the two voters insisted on voting outside of their parties.

"They chose the opposite party they're registered," Lint said. "I don't know why."

In another case, the board voted to reject a ballot that Lint initially believed had been cast by an individual who had also voted via absentee ballot in Greene County. Upon closer review after the board had adjourned, Lint said it appeared the two ballots had actually been cast by different people with the same name.

Zapotosky yesterday said if an error was made, steps will be taken to correct it.

In reviewing other ballots, the board accepted six ballots that were cast by registered voters whose names could not be found in the poll books. In several instances, partial ballots were accepted when voters went to the wrong precinct, but whose correct district was in the same Congressional district.

They rejected 19 that were cast by unregistered voters, four that were cast by voters who are registered in other counties and one that contained incomplete information regarding the voter's status.

The election board typically is comprised of the three county commissioners. Mehalov sat in yesterday for Commissioner Vincent Vicites because Vicites was on the ballot as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_565005.html

Expert Panel Expected To Cast Doubt on Common Forensic Tests

By PLL

Source: Crime and Justice News, September 22, 2008.

"A panel of experts looking into the reliability of CSI tests has heard damning evidence against some of the most common techniques used to convict killers, rapists, and other criminals, reports the New York Post. The analysis of fingerprints, tire tracks, and bite marks isn't nearly so reliable as researchers once believed, crime-scene specialists told the panel. Some even called it junk science. Many said major changes would be necessary if crime labs want to continue using the evidence."

"The National Academy of Sciences report isn't due out until December, but forensic expert Barry Scheck said it could have major implications. "There were some serious questions raised about the reliability of certain disciplines - bite impressions, tire tracks and automatic fingerprint identification," he said. 'I'm assuming they're going to make some big recommendations about how standards are set. A lot of people are anticipating a fairly far-reaching examination of forensic science.' The $1 million effort to assess forensic work is not final; the academy's report is undergoing a peer review now. It's already being viewed as a major potential challenge to the fundamentals of crime-scene investigation. One example: 'Bite marks probably ought to be the poster child for bad forensic science,' said expert David Faigman"

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/PLL/2008_9_22

Fayette County Voter Rolls to Remain Bloated

Voter Removal Process (purge) of ineligibles may not happen in Fayette for some 2 or 3 years... awaiting news of current events, in particular an appeal filed in the Court of Common Pleas of PA... by our reading of applicable federal and PA state election laws, the county registration commission is obligated to provide an accurate voter registry, annually, culling the voter registration records of any and all ineligibles, that is deceased, and non-residents, and have a program to determine the status of individuals who have moved in the county and out of the county.

Caution is in order, however, to not remove the names of voters solely for the reason of "not having voted."

More findings coming... here's a good one, from back a while...

Census: `Motor voter law' inflates numbers
Debra Erdley TRIBUNE REVIEW

In Fayette County, a 1997 scandal over absentee ballots raised questions about registration numbers. A grand jury investigation that followed concluded with a report speculating that at least 10 percent of the registered voters were either dead or resided elsewhere.

However, when Fayette officials conducted an investigation last year at the grand jury's recommendation, they found only 190 names that could be purged from the rolls - 10 who had died and 180 who had moved out of state. Another 1,300 names were placed in an inactive file after letters came back with notations that forwarding addresses had expired.

Laurie Nicholson, director of Fayette County's Election Bureau, said those names can be purged if the individuals fail to vote in two consecutive federal elections.

She said statistics that show 72 percent of Fayette's voting-age population as registered voters are as accurate a representation as possible under the motor voter law.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/specialreports/2000census/motorvoter.html

Of the county's current 91,382 registered voters, Lint said 62,880 are Democrats and 21,929 are Republicans. The balance, or 6,573, are independents.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/election/counties/s_613640.html

Don't become confused by the 2009 dates referencing the Fayette purge has begun.

A full review of the voter database for the county is not happening. (One never did in the past either, even though there's a line item in the 2006 Budget Report for 'Voter Registration Purge' there isn't a dollar figure by the item

http://dsf.pacounties.org/fayette/lib/fayette/genfundbudgets/fayette_county_budget_2006.pdf
)


It's a wonder that it is legal for the county to have sent out some 9,000 postcards - how was this number determined? What information was used to get to that number, and what year was used?

For an adequate and truly fair voter removal program of "ineligibles" - postcards should have been sent out to all 91,382 registered voters. A follow-up of problematic non-returns or returned undeliverable, etc. would be the only way to determine whether many such registered have moved, are deceased, or potentially are alive and well but exercise their right to be both registered on the county's books, AND simply not vote as a protest.

I know if I'd chosen that route, not voting as a protest, and received a notice my name may be removed if I didn't respond to a mailing, I'd be hopping mad that I had to confirm my voting right status to a bunch of elected officials who I had chosen not to vote for any of the above by abstaining from appearing at the precinct to vote or cast an absentee ballot.

We'll be placing former letters sent to boards of commissioners off-site for review.

March 2008 Letter with links provided to entire board of Fayette County Commissioners

http://www.angelfire.com/pa/truthonline/nettruthonline/

Previous posts

http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/search?q=Purge+of+inactive+Fayette+voters+delayed

search results

http://www.google.com/search?q=Purge+of+inactive+Fayette+voters+delayed+&btnG=Search&hl=en&sa=2

Fayette postpones purging 25,000 voters
By Mary Pickels
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, August 8, 2008

Buzz up!

A Fayette County voter purge that was to begin earlier this week has been postponed, the director of the election bureau said Thursday.
"We're going to do it after the (fall) election," Laurie Lint said. "The time constraints were too close. I didn't want to start and not complete it."

The postponement did not sit well with Commissioner Vincent Vicites, who said the purge had been discussed at a May board meeting.

"I'm disappointed it's not being done," Vicites said yesterday.

"We need to make sure our rolls are as accurate as possible. This is probably the most important election cycle in the last four years."

Vicites said Lint was to have a plan ready to present for board approval at the June meeting.

"That did not happen," he said. "I wanted her to move forward on it. The point I'm making is I brought it up in plenty of time.

"Now we have to do it next spring. I will remain fervent about getting it accomplished."

On July 24, the commissioners agreed to authorize the purge, which would have notified as many as 25,000 inactive voters.

At that meeting, Lint said the mailing process had to have been completed by Wednesday, within 90 days of the fall election.

"Can we do it by that date?" Commissioner Vincent Zapotosky asked at the meeting. "Let's not pursue it unless we're 100 percent sure."

Zapotosky and Vicites both said they considered the purge among their top priorities.

Yesterday, Zapotosky said when he spoke with Lint more than a week ago, she could not give him a 100 percent guarantee of meeting the deadline.

"That kind of triggered putting a stop to it," he said. "Laurie made the call. I gave her the opportunity to decide whether we should or should not.

"I don't hold her responsible. I think she made a good decision."

Lint said efforts were made to meet Wednesday's deadline.

"It just didn't work out," she said. "It wasn't feasible for me to get it done and postmarked and out of here by the 6th."

Lint said her greatest concern was getting the materials she needed in time.

"I couldn't be guaranteed I would have all of my supplies in here and out on time -- printed, folded, presorted and stuffed," she said.

When the purge takes place, voters who wish to remain on the rolls will be asked to return notices in postage-paid envelopes provided by the county.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/fayette/s_581779.html

Purge of inactive Fayette voters delayed
By Jennifer Harr, Herald-Standard August 09, 2008

A purge of about 25,000 Fayette County voters who have failed to show up at the polls in five years has been delayed until after the November election.
Laurie Lint, director of the Fayette County Elect...

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19901537&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

http://pipdocs.org/?p=map&s=pa

Dormant Fayette voters may be purged
By Liz Zemba
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Fayette County Election Bureau has identified as many as 25,000 registered voters who have not cast ballots in at least five years, putting them at risk of having their names purged from voter rolls.
Laurie Lint, election bureau director, said Tuesday a check of voter registrations turned up between 15,000 and 25,000 people who have not voted in the past five years. Lint conducted the review as the first step in a countywide purge of voter rolls...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_574442.html

Dormant Fayette voters may be purged
By Liz Zemba
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
County commissioners on Thursday will vote on authorization of the next step, which is to mail out notices to each of the inactive voters. Voters who want to remain on the rolls will be asked to return the notices in postage-paid envelopes to be provided by the county.

Voters who don't respond can still vote in November, should they go to the polls, Lint said.

Inactive voters who fail to respond to the notices, and then subsequently do not vote in November, will have their names purged from the county's voter rolls...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_574442.html

Dormant Fayette voters may be purged
By Liz Zemba
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The county last purged its voter rolls in 1995, when the Motor Voter Law was enacted. Prior to 1995, the county purged its voter database every year, removing the names of voters who did not go to the polls in four consecutive elections, Lint said.

Lint said she used data provided by the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors, or SURE, to identify voters who have not cast ballots in the past five years. The SURE system notifies each of the state's 67 election bureaus when voters die, move or register in another county.

There are 89,536 registered voters in Fayette County, including 61,887 Democrats and 21,449 Republicans, according to Lint. Voter turnout in the primary election was 42 percent.

Cost for the mailings will be approximately $20,000, Lint said, including $6,500 in postage to send out the notices using the standard bulk rate of 26 cents per mailing. Another $10,500 will be spent on postage for the return envelopes, Lint said, because they are ineligible for the bulk rate.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_574442.html

Herald-Standard

Precinct consolidation plan stalled
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
06/25/2008

Lint also told the commissioners she has plans to send out 25,000 notices to voters as part of a voter purge program prior to the November election. She said the biggest obstacle is having a postage-paid envelope and a bulk rate must be reinstated for the county. Lint said the cost of reinstating the bulk rate would cost $180, but if that were done, it would save $3,000 overall.

Lint said the purge is estimated to cost about $20,000, which includes sending letters that can be sent back in. She said if people vote in the next election they will remain on the rolls, and if they don't respond and don't vote, they would be purged.

The commissioners took no action on the request, but Lint said in response to a question from Vicites that the vote could be taken at next month's meeting to initiate the purge.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19801026&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

clip from wind watch

The commissioners also will act today on proposals to enact a voter purge as well as initiate a pay study for all non-union county employees.

Last month, all three commissioners voted to support a voter purge. Zimmerlink said in May 2006 the county mailed out 21,142 letters to registered voters, informing them of the new voting system, which led to removing more than 1,000 names.

Zimmerlink said the open issue is how to fund the purge.

Vicites said the purge should be completed before the November election, adding that he initially pushed to have it placed on the agenda.

“We need to move forward. We have identified funding,” Vicites said. “The voter purge is the top priority in the election bureau in my opinion.”

Zapotosky said money from the sale of some of the county’s electronic voting machines could be used to pay for the purge. He said the only outstanding issue is to ensure the county follows federal requirements regarding when the purge can be done.

All three commissioners have talked about the need for a pay study to address pay inequities in various departments where union employees are making close to or more than non-union management employees.

The agenda item calls for advertising for professional services under the request for qualification to conduct a pay scale study for the current staff complement of non-union employees.

Vicites said the pay study is something the county needs to carry out. He said it is a step-by-step process and it has to be properly budgeted.

Judge Conrad Capuzzi and Michelle Grant Shumar, head of the Fayette County Office of Human and Community Services and Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation, have separately raised the issue at county salary board meetings.

If the motions are approved today, the commissioners will vote to take action on them during Thursday’s monthly meeting.

By Amy Zalar

Herald-Standard

22 July 2008

http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/07/22/commissioners-may-change-ordinance-to-comply-with-turbine-industry-standards/

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19863949&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6http://

Election Redo

What an interesting case. Voting redo ordered in Monroeville's Ward 5

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/election/s_630775.html

An election redo in one ward in Allegheny County because less than half a dozen voters were somehow enabled to vote in the Primary - it's alleged - in another political party from which they are registered.

And the new ballots will be mailed to the selected few who are registered as the "harmed" party but whose votes were wronged due to the debacle.

What will be of interest - how many of the 171 Democrat registrants who voted in the Primary at the local Ward will bother to fill out a new ballot and how many will leave the race/s undervoted?

How many will write in names of somebody else? Wonder whether that would be legal? Haha. Wouldn't it be something if voters changed their minds after all that had happened and enmasse wrote in someone's name who didn't participate in the Democrat ticket/primary process?

Just wondering...

Net the Truth Online

Voting redo ordered in Monroeville's Ward 5
By Brian Bowling
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The May primary still isn't over for 171 Democrats in the first district of Monroeville's fifth ward.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Joseph James ruled Tuesday that those people will get the chance to vote again in the Ward 5 council race because five Republicans and one independent illegally voted in the Democratic primary.

"Let's see if we can get it done right this time," James said at the end of a cordial hearing in which attorney Robert Wratcher, representing incumbent Marshall Boone, 68, and attorney Karen Balaban, representing challenger Diane Allison, 42, agreed that a special election by mail is the way to correct the problem.

County elections manager Mark Wolosik said his office will mail paper ballots with the two candidates' names to the 171 Democrats who legitimately voted in District 1, Ward 5. Democrats who didn't vote on May 19 aren't eligible to vote in the special election.

The county hopes to send the ballots out Monday, but it may take an extra day or so to get them ready. The ballots will have to be returned within 15 days.

The last special election by mail in the county was held in 1999 when a lever voting machine malfunctioned in Plum and added 100 votes to a council primary race, Wolosik said. Eighty-four percent -- or 137 of the 164 eligible voters -- recast their ballots then.

Allegheny County's electronic voting system doesn't leave a paper trail that would allow officials to determine for which candidate the six party crashers voted, Wolosik said.

Preliminary results had Boone leading Allison by a 198-196 count. James said he couldn't allow the six miscast votes to stand because they could reverse Boone's two-vote lead.

Allison filed a petition to challenge the results, which led the Allegheny County Board of Elections to refuse to certify the District 1 results for the Ward 5 race.

Wolosik said the five Republicans apparently were able to vote as Democrats because poll workers failed to set the machine for the Republican ballot. He told the judge the old lever voting machines had the same problem.

The one independent apparently claimed to be a Democrat on Election Day and was allowed to vote on the Democratic ballot, he said.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/election/s_630775.html

Dr. Dean's Rx for USA Healthcare Doesn't answer who pays

On Morning Joe - again, thankfully, Joe Scarborough himself is absent, as we've noted before, when he could have asked the pointed and difficult questions during the Presidential campaign couple of year-long runs of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, he didn't - Howard Dean, former Presidential candidate himself, has a book to plug just in time for the health care debate... and he'll be hosting Countdown in the evening.

What does he say about the President's healthcare plan...

"Small business won't have to pay for the healthcare of employees any longer...!"

He left out hehaw...

And he left out who will pay for all yes all of the small business employees, and how the healthcare coverage for employees of small businesses would be paid. In other words, who would be taxed for the coverage of all small business employees?

He also left out explanation of how hospitals, private hospitals, would have to comply with a little known provision in the 1000 plus page healthcare bill.

A provision that mandates coverage for abortions...

But he didn't leave out mention of his book.

Yeah, hooray for Dean's book, blogger posts review

Dean's Book

And he didn't clarify what he means when he says individuals can opt into the government plan of health care, or not.

More on what Dean has said and it's been recorded...

Video of speech, introduced on blog with glowing support

http://www.talkwithtim.com/politics/governor-and-doctor-howard-dean-discusses-health-care-reform-and-president-obamas-plan

Dean told Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman last week that Obama’s public option plan is best thought of as Medicare or single payer.

“For the average American, they should best think of it as Medicare,” Dean said.

According to Dean, under the Obama plan, the American people will have a choice to opt into a single payer system.

“Look, you decide for yourself,” Dean said. “We’re going to allow people under sixty-five to sign up for what people over sixty-five have. And you make the choice.”

more...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=

389x6122494