State Legislator Bill on Cyber Charter Schools Funding

Beyer Cyber Charter Bill Approved by Education Committee
12/05/07

Following a robust discussion, the House Education Committee today voted to send House Bill 446 to the floor for debate announced its prime sponsor, Rep Karen Beyer (R-Lehigh/Northampton).

“I am very pleased that my committee colleagues voted to send this legislation to the full House,” said Beyer. “After a full set of public hearings that brought input from everyone involved in this issue, and after implementing changes from the original version, I am pleased that this bill will get a full and fair debate. I look forward to its passage.”

The legislation is designed to bring the oversight and funding of cyber-charter schools under the umbrella of the Department of Education. The bill would:

http://www.repbeyer.com/?sectionid=2§iontree=2&itemid=191

Karen D. Beyer (Republican)
Lehigh County (Part)
Northampton County (Part)

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/house_bio.cfm?districtnumber=131


Candidate Positions

http://www.beyer2005.org/index.cfm?SectionID=2&ParentID=0&SectionTree=2&SectionTypeID=2

The Truth and Karen Beyer
June 17th, 2005

http://sauconvalley.info/Joel_Katz/0617-5.asp

Without Apology
October 9th, 2003

http://sauconvalley.info/Joel_Katz/1009.asp

Monday, November 06, 2006
Minger Upset in 131st? Incumbent Beyer Dishing Out the Dirt

http://lehighvalleyramblings.blogspot.com/2006/11/minger-upset-in-131st-incumbent-beyer.html

Cyber-school empire under attack
Beaver County educator fighting grand juries, suits and legislators
Sunday, March 18, 2007
By Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Beyond contending with the grand jury investigation and the Rodis lawsuit, Dr. Trombetta has been targeted by a foe in Harrisburg, state Rep. Karen Beyer, R-Lehigh, a former school board president who is on the House Education Committee.

Ms. Beyer said she has based some of her conclusions on discussions with Mr. Barney, whom she described as a "whistle-blower."

Ms. Beyer said she told Dr. Trombetta. "Nick, you continue to operate, I have no problem with what you do. I'm not trying to ban cyber charter schools. I'm trying to get a handle on the money."

Dr. Trombetta said if anything, Ms. Beyer's criticisms have helped enrollment at the school by generating publicity.

"We have invited Rep. Beyer to come to Midland and learn about the high quality education we provide to over 6,000 students across the state of Pennsylvania. She has refused to take us up on that offer and continues to mischaracterize our work and our mission," Dr. Trombetta said.

"We remain at a loss why she is not interested in learning about what we are doing before making judgments. Other elected officials have done so and come away with a clear understanding that the work being done here is meaningful and important to many families across the Commonwealth and that we represent the future of public education."

Ms. Beyer has introduced legislation to tighten financial controls on cyber charter schools and cut tuition. She has written letters to both the state's attorney general and auditor general requesting investigations of Dr. Trombetta.

Ms. Beyer claims that the contract between the cyber school and NNDS and the funding of the performing arts center represent improper uses of taxpayer money.

"Those dollars were assigned to the students to use for their education. They weren't assigned to build a performing arts center," particularly one that tuition-paying students on the other side of the state don't have access to, she said.

As for NNDS, Ms. Beyer said, "He's taking these tuition payments and starting up some subsidiary business with the purpose of creating business out of the state." NNDS sells services to 33 clients other than Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, including cyber charter schools in Ohio and New Mexico.

"He's required the utilization of taxpayer resources to execute his big, huge plan, whatever that ultimately is," Ms. Beyer said. "He wants to be the king of cyber schools, and I'm here to tell Mr. Trombetta he's not going to be the king of cyber schools with taxpayer money, period."

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07077/770513-298.stm

Pa. cyber school debate unites school boards, teachers' union
By MARTHA RAFFAELE
The Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The lobbying groups for Pennsylvania school boards and public school teachers don't often see eye-to-eye on education policy.

But they agree on the need for the state to more strictly regulate cyber charter schools , which enable students to learn at home, using the Internet to connect to teachers and classroom materials , and take on the full burden of paying for them.

A bill that would require the state to fund cyber schools and limit the amount of tuition the schools can charge has the support of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest teachers union.

That makes cyber school administrators uneasy. Pennsylvania has 11 cyber schools that enroll 17,000 students.

"If we have to fight against their heavy lobbying efforts, where they have dozens of people that can meet with legislators all day on Capitol Hill ... and our message doesn't reach them in time, I believe some very dangerous legislation could be passed," said Jim Hanak, chief executive officer of Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, a West Chester-based cyber school.

The legislation sponsored by Rep. Karen Beyer, R-Lehigh, calls for the state Education Department to pay for cyber schools, but would limit the amount of tuition the schools can collect to a range of $3,000 to $5,000 per pupil, depending on a school's enrollment.

Under the state's 1997 charter school law, school districts must pay tuition rates that are equivalent to roughly 75 percent of the state and local tax dollars they spend per pupil , an amount that varies widely from district to district. Those rates apply to children enrolled in cyber schools and more traditional "bricks and mortar" charter schools.

School boards have long have questioned whether the current charter school funding formula reflects the true cost of educating cyber school students, since the schools don't need to pay for transportation or the cost of maintaining school buildings.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-05142007-1345557.html

Bill would limit funding to cyber schools
By TIFFANY WRIGHT
Daily American Staff Writer
Monday, August 20, 2007 2:16 AM EDT

School districts across the state are deciding if they want to support a bill that would decrease the amount of money given to cyber charter schools.

About 50 school districts have approved resolutions supporting House Bill 446.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Karen Beyer, R-Lehigh and Northampton, would transfer funding responsibility for cyber charter schools to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. It would also require greater accountability for the online schools.

“Essentially it's an accountability bill,” Beyer said. “They are 100 percent taxpayer (funded) schools. The bill would also call for a statewide tuition rate for all students who attend cyber schools. It should be uniform in the way education is delivered. There should be the same costs as a traditional brick-and-mortar school.”

Cyber charter schools provide lessons via computers and the Internet. Cyber students participate in their homes or locations other than a classroom, according to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association Web site.

http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2007/08/20/news/news788.txt

Inside Today's Bulletin
Cyber Charter Schools Panic Over Funding
By: Bradley Vasoli, The Bulletin
05/29/2007

A bill that would shift the responsibility of financing cyber charter schools from school districts to the state treasury has lagged in the state House Committee on Education, but its sponsor, Karen D. Beyer (R-Lehigh and Northampton), has offered the measure (House Bill 446) as an amendment to various bills that have passed out of committee and awaits the bill's consideration this summer or fall.
It's a controversial bill among some, but not among teachers and administrators at Pennsylvania's 11 cyber charter schools that educated well over 13,000 students last year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). They are categorically opposed to it because its cuts in funding are so trenchant that cyber charters will likely not have the resources to continue.

http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=18397617&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=6

Pension perk assailed as 'abuse of the system'
A law lets school retirees stay on the job, collecting both paychecks and pensions. How many do? Nobody knows.
By Dan Hardy

Inquirer Staff Writer

...State Rep. Karen Beyer (R., Lehigh), a former school board member and a member of the House Education Committee, said she planned to propose a law to stop what she calls "an abuse of the system."

Cases such as Burke-Stevenson's and Baillie's, she said, are "double-dipping - if it looks, walks and quacks like a duck, it is. You can't get away from it."

Experts say it is unclear how much the practice costs the retirement system; it depends on individual circumstances, and PSERS doesn't keep track.

What is clear: School employee pensions are a large and growing expense to taxpayers and are "about to become a truly burdensome expense to most school districts," a Pennsylvania School Boards Association study said this year...

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20071219_Pension_perk_assailed_as_abuse_of_the_system.html

Posted on Thu, Jan. 31, 2008
Interim chief of schools gets pension while on staff
By Susan Snyder
Inquirer Staff Writer


...The Philadelphia School District's interim chief academic officer, who is also the newest candidate for CEO, draws an annual pension of $36,900 in addition to her yearly salary of $231,394, records show.
The arrangement for Cassandra W. Jones, 56, is allowed under a state law that says employees can draw a pension while earning a salary if their employers determine that their departure would create an emergency or if there is a shortage of qualified replacements.

The arrangement is not unique. The Inquirer reported last month that hundreds of school administrators and other employees - nearly 900 of them in the Philadelphia School District alone - are working while collecting pensions. Most of them are substitute teachers or short-term employees.

The practice has come under question by both state lawmakers and the state retirement agency in recent months.

State Rep. Karen Beyer (R., Lehigh), a former school board member and a member of the House Education Committee, said last night that she is preparing to propose legislation that would place restrictions on the law's use for administrative positions. School districts would have to show that a real emergency exists, she said...

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20080131_Interim_chief_of_schools_gets_pension_while_on_staff.html

Hundreds of school retirees collecting paychecks and pensions

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 11:47 PM EST

PHILADELPHIA — Hundreds of retired Pennsylvania school administrators and other school employees have collected paychecks in addition to their pensions, according to a published report.

Critics say the practice is an abuse of a state law that is supposed to be used only to fill vacancies in emergency situations.
Supporters of the 2004 law, including the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the state’s Public School Employees’ Retirement System, say allowing retired school employees to continue working for as long as a year after their retirement helps schools fill unexpected vacancies or difficult-to-fill jobs.

But state Rep. Karen Beyer, a former school board member who serves on the House Education Committee, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the practice often amounts to “double-dipping” and she plans to introduce legislation to stop such abuses.

“If it looks, walks and quacks like a duck, it is,” the Lehigh County Republican told the newspaper.

http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2007/12/19/state_news/s_news334.txt

Friday, February 8, 2008
Notes from the Week that was
Mitt Romney calls it Quits...

Duck hunting in the 131st...

Drake Minder is going to give it a go against Karen Beyer in PA's 131st House seat...

http://lvpoliblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/notes-from-week-that-was.html

http://lvpoliblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/sunday-musings.html

http://lvpoliblog.blogspot.com/

http://lehighvalleyramblings.blogspot.com/2008/01/cunningham-one-of-only-thirty-five-dems.html

Judge nixes stop on voting machine funds
Northampton County one of three seeking new equipment.
By Joe Nixon | Of The Morning Call
February 9, 2008
A Commonwealth Court judge Friday dismissed a request to prevent about $4 million in state money from being used to reimburse three counties -- including Northampton -- for the cost of new electronic voting systems.

A group of voters from across the state, already plaintiffs in a 2006 suit against the Pennsylvania Department of State over the reliability and accuracy of direct recording electronic voting machines, sought the injunction late last month. The injunction request, essentially an extension of the original pending suit, sought to prevent Northampton, Lackawanna and Wayne counties from spending state money on new machines already being questioned.

The plaintiffs had argued that if they won in court in the original suit, the machines would have to be scrapped. The injunction request didn't seek to prevent the use of machines already certified and purchased. Senior Judge Keith B. Quigley Friday granted a motion from the state to quash the injunction petition.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b4_3vote-2.6266214feb09,0,7450291.story

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/the-morning-call/TGE7AIHLAVVCGQKAI

Friday, Feb. 08, 2008
CENTRE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Creation of voting machine task force lacks support
Rogers: Panel representation not broad enough to be fair
Anne Danahy

http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/389431.html

Paper ballots gain support
By JENNA PORTNOY
The Intelligencer
Clinton or Obama? Romney or McCain?

These choices won’t matter if the votes don’t count on Election Day.

That’s why dozens of voting activists, residents and municipal officials urged Bucks County commissioners Wednesday to back a federal bill that would reimburse counties for the cost of replacing electronic voting machines with a paper ballot voting system.

“The problem is no machine should stand in the way of a voter’s intended vote being counted,” said Madeline Rawley, an outspoken member of the Coalition for Voting Integrity. “Show some leadership, and say this is what you want. You want to protect your voters.”

Democratic Congressman Pat Murphy is a co-sponsor of the bill, which New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt introduced last month.

But Republican Commissioners Jim Cawley and Charley Martin said they would not support the measure because they weren’t sure it really would reimburse counties for the cost of switching machines based on comments made by chief operating officer David Sanko.

Sanko said a Murphy staffer told him the bill, which would authorize $500 million for the switch, is not likely to pass and that the funding would not cover all costs. Murphy spokesman Adam Abrams disputes those statements.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-02072008-1483901.html

Links via electionline

http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/electionline.aspx

PA Property Tax elimination analysis

See this site for a decent analysis of the recent situation in Pennsylvania concerning so-called school property tax elimination, reduction, reform, whatever they are calling it now.

http://pataxpayers.blogspot.com/

The following from the Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition says it best, so why reinvent the wheel?

http://pataxpayers.blogspot.com/

This week has been an absolute zoo in the state House of Representatives – and that analogy is insulting to the zoo animals!

Because the bill supported by the PTCC and PCTA, HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act (SPTEA), was not allowed out of the House Appropriations Committee for a fair hearing by the majority leadership, its language was attached as an amendment to HB 1600 to ensure it would be debated.

Unfortunately, the amendment was defeated on Tuesday (1/29) mostly because the legislators bent to the will of the special interests and marched in lockstep with their caucus leaders...

...It is obvious that the majority Democratic House Leadership is in total confusion from having HB 1600 defeated and the Perzel amendment approved. This turn of events has thwarted their plans for their bogus property tax “relief” and they obviously need time to regroup.

HB 1600 is dead, the second fake tax swap plan, HB 1489, is on life support, and the Democratic Caucus has no fallback position. They promised property tax relief during the 2006 election, have been unable to deliver, and now are facing the voters again in 2008. They are in a VERY precarious position.

If they would choose to help themselves, HB 1275, the School Property Tax Elimination Act, is still in the Appropriations Committee and could be brought out for a vote if they would be willing to make a deal with 1275’s sponsors. I have no idea whatsoever if the Democratic Leadership would be willing to do this but it certainly could solve their problem.

This debate still has a long way to go and many more votes will have to be taken, so we’ll just have to wait to see how and when all of this plays out.

In the end, the taxpayers have again paid the price for the ridiculous political gamesmanship of this dysfunctional legislature. It is time that these politicians stop the “business as usual” and tend to the people they represent...

http://pataxpayers.blogspot.com/2008/02/update-week-in-review-and-zoo-in.html

Super Delegates Smoke Filled Backroom

CNN discussing how super delegates could turn the election of the Democrat nomination for President.

Said Super-delegate Donna Brazile to CNN, "If 795 of my colleagues decide this election, I will quit the Democratic Party. I feel very strongly about this."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/02/the-super-deleg.html

Delegates listing

http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html

Political Punch
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior National Correspondent Jake Tapper
The Super-Delegate Mess (and Other Messes)
February 08, 2008 9:48 AM

Greetings from Seattle. And yes, I'm sleepless.

78 delegates are up for grabs here in tomorrow's Washington State Caucus as are 19 SUPER-DELEGATES.

Read more about that -- as well as Clinton's insinuation that Obama's rhetoric is meaningless -- HERE.

Could it be that this race comes down to the roughly 800 party insiders anointed as "super-delegates"?

They comprise roughly 20% of the delegate total, and if Obama and Clinton continue to split the vote count roughly 50-50, how they vote could be crucial -- which is why Chelsea and Bill Clinton, and reps for Obama, are calling them and wooing them.

Super-delegates were created after the insurgent outsider campaigns of then Sen. George McGovern, D-SD, and former Gov. Jimmy Carter of Georgia, secured the Democratic party nominations in 1972 and 1976, respectively. The idea was to return some power to party officials. Political scientist Rhodes Cook has said super-delegates were created as a "firewall to blunt any party outsider that built up a head of steam in the primaries."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/02/the-super-deleg.html

Democratic Dream Ticket Descends into Nightmare

But the buzz among Democratic activists was over the growing possibility that Mr. Obama could beat Ms. Clinton in the race for ‘pledged delegates' awarded in the state-by-state primaries, but ultimately lose to the former first lady if she wins the support of more so-called ‘super-delegates.' They include party officials and lawmakers who automatically get to vote in the Democratic nominating convention this August in Denver. So far, they are backing Clinton by a two-to-one margin.

That support is making a difference. According to post-Super Tuesday delegate tallies by NBC News, Mr. Obama had amassed 838 ‘pledged' delegates so far during the primary season, slightly ahead of Clinton's 834.

But Ms. Clinton remains in the overall lead -- 1,012 to 933, according to the RealClearPolitics.com -- almost entirely because of support from super-delegates, including former president Bill Clinton.

The magic delegate number to clinch the Democratic nomination is 2,025. Of the Democrats' 4,000-plus voting delegates, 795 will be super-delegates.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/uselection/story.html?id=290479

PA Rebate: To Exempted From State Income Tax

This makes sense for what reason?

Rendell proposed $28.3 billion budget
By Brad Bumsted
STATE CAPITOL REPORTER
Tuesday, February 5, 2008


HARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell today proposed a $28.3 billion state budget that increases spending by 4.2 percent and does not raise general state tax rates.
As part of a broader effort to boost the state economy, the spending plan calls for a one-time $400 rebate for 475,000 low-income Pennsylvanians who currently do not pay the state income tax.

Rendell's budget, if approved by the Legislature, calls for $500 million in additional spending on public education. The K-12 portion of that increase, $291 million, represents six percent more in spending.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/election/s_550892.html

Barack Obama Sweep?

Latest Super Tuesday Results From AP

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ELN_LATEST_CALLS?SITE=PAGRE&SECTION=US

7 PM ET Georgia CNN calls winner Barack Obama

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

Obama Wins Georgia Democratic Primary, GOP Race Too Close to Call
by FOXNews.com
Tuesday, February 5, 2008

http://youdecide08.foxnews.com/2008/02/05/georgia-voters-may-give-early-clues-to-super-tuesday-verdict-after-tense-day-of-campaigning/

Fox News State by State

http://youdecide08.foxnews.com/states/

Also see Drudge Report warning given

http://www.drudgereport.com/

California Style Vote Counting

California has same day undeclared voter registration, too? Like New Jersey?

In California, the media can't possibly determine who has won until all of the mail in ballots have been tallied and the central counts are completed which will include polling place ballots.

High Absentee Ballots Threaten State Tally
California elections officials predict that nearly 13 percent of all ballots cast for the Feb. 5 primary could go uncounted on Election Night, possibly slowing the presidential tally in the nation's most delegate-rich state.

The reason is twofold: More Californians than ever before are expected to vote by mail, and the unsettled nature of the Republican and Democratic races may prompt many of those voters to wait until the last minute to submit ballots.

About half of all ballots cast for the election are expected to come by mail, up from 33 percent in the 2004 presidential primary. Registrars say that could lead to a backlog of ballots on Election Night, potentially delaying the announcement of winners in close races.

Compounding the Election Night worries is that the vote count could be slowed even before mail-in ballots are taken into account.

One reason is new restrictions imposed by the Secretary of State's office on electronic voting systems used in some of California's most populous counties, including San Diego and Riverside. They are among the counties shifting the majority of precinct voters away from touchscreen machines and back to paper ballots.

Those ballots will have to be counted centrally using the same scanners normally dedicated to plowing through the absentee vote because counties were not able to acquire enough machines to perform tallies at individual polling places.

http://cbs13.com/national/california.primary.ballot.2.632652.html

Mail vs. precinct voting

Voting by mail has become increasingly popular in California and in other states. Not too long ago the proportion of residents opting to vote by mail was in single digits. In both presidential and off-year elections, there has been a steady increase in the proportion and numbers of Californians voting by mail.

The Field Poll estimates that of the 8.9 million total votes cast, mail ballots will account for 4.1 million, the largest number for any previous California primary election.

Growing number of permanent mail ballot voters

One of the reasons behind the growing number of votes cast by mail in recent elections relates to the recent rapid growth in the number of registered voters who have signed up as permanent mail ballot registrants. Since this alternative first became available to voters in 2001, nearly 4.7 million Californians now automatically receive their election ballots sent to them by mail before each election.

The Field Poll estimates that about 3.5 million of the permanent mail ballot registrants will return a ballot in this year’s primary. They will be joined by another 600,000 voters who will likely return their ballots by mail after requesting one for this specific election or because they live in a precinct or county where only mail ballot voting is allowed.

http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=

9774

Obama, Romney lead in California on Super Tuesday

Tue Feb 5, 2008 2:23pm EST
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama surged to a big lead over Hillary Clinton in California hours before "Super Tuesday" voting began in 24 states, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Tuesday.

In the Republican race, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney held a 7-point advantage on Arizona Sen. John McCain in California, while McCain added to commanding double-digit leads in New York and New Jersey.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0345866120080205?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Avante Explains Position

Avante explains...

On the issue of paper ballot vs DRE (Direct Recording Electronic) with VVPR (Voter Verified Paper Record) for New York State

AVANTE has long taken the position that DREs with a properly engineered VVPR is the best voting solution for the United States on the basis of meeting all of the requirements. It’s the only method that can help to eliminate voter errors.

The caveat is that the DRE and VVPR must be properly engineered so that commonly observed errors and privacy concerns are not introduced. We believe the dramatic failures of some of the DREs with VVPR have nothing to do with the concept of the system but everything to do with problems in engineering and design. We have published several white papers with this opinion.11 12

AVANTE knows that its position is not the same as some of the activist groups. It is particularly true on the virtue of DREs with VVPR vs Precinct-base Optical Scan voting solutions. In many ways, the “devils” or potential problems of DRE with VVPR are well known and have been studied over the last few years. They have been addressed in election codes as well as in certification requirements.

However, one cannot say the same of optical scan system. The “devils” and problems of paper ballot tampering were known decades ago when New York and New Jersey changed from paper balloting to the current direct recording mechanical lever voting systems.13 But

the problems have been forgotten. The current optical scan system and relevant processes have not been improved over the last twenty or more years.
AVANTE has advocated that a proper name for the optical scan system may be best described as “direct recording optical scan electronic” (DROSE).
The current crop of optical scan systems scan the paper ballot and tell the voter if there are any over-voted or under-voted contests. It does NOT tell the voter how the system is actually reading and recording the deciphered ballot. Upon acceptance by the voters, even though they have no idea of how the system is registering their votes other than by faith, it then records the electronic data directly into the tallies. The tallies are recorded in flash memory and used as transfer medium. The vulnerabilities of using such transfer media are known and been proven by Harri Hursti and Thompson to be easily changed without a trace14. While it may be true that there are paper ballots marked by the voters stored in the ballot box, there is no corresponding process control in the current New York State or any other State Election Codes. Some state laws even forbid manual reviewing of the paper ballots. Paper ballots whether they are precinct-based or central counts, can be tampered with and substituted. No fault absentee ballots are subject to even more potential integrity issues.

The mentioned optical scan voting problems and potential lack of proper control with paper ballot handling is also inadequately addressed by the EAC Voting System Standards. The reason? All of the human resources in this field have been committed to eliminating the problems in DRE voting systems.

Is there an optical scan system solution that will address these issues? Yes. Mr. Harri Hursti has explained such a system in “Black Box Voting’s” website.15

An optical scan system should capture digital images of all of the ballots as they are submitted to form an electronic audit trail of the paper ballots. It is a “reverse” of the VVPR to the electronic ballots. AVANTE believe it should also provide the voters with the display of exactly how the system is recording the paper ballot as deciphered by the optical scan electronic system.16

http://www.avantetech.com/uploads/pdf/Clarification%20of%20AVANTE%20voting%20system%20position-FINAL.pdf

Also see

http://www.wheresthepaper.org/AVANTEclarifiesPosition070618.pdf

NJ: All voting equipment shall produce voter verified paper ballot

Effective Audit Policy for voter-verified paper ballots in New Jersey Andrew W. Appel

http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~appel/papers/appel-nj-audits.pdf

Rep. Rush Holt HR 811 Avante International Questions

coming across more food for thought with Avante's response to criticisms and Mercuri's piece.

Are we still unsure whether Kevin Chung met Rush Holt at any time prior to creating the Avante Auto-trakker voting method? Well of course we are...

The following postings were taken from Holt Paper-Trail Election Bill Dead? -- UPDATE: Not Dead Yet By Kim Zetter July 18, 2007 | 11:01:02 PM

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/07/holt-paper-trai.html

visit that site for how the conversation online unfolds. Revisit Rebecca Mercuri's piece as well.

See specifically, Avante's response which contains a link to

http://www.avantetech.com/uploads/pdf/Clarification%20of%20AVANTE%20voting%20system%20position-FINAL.pdf

Read that in its entirety.

There is no doubt the former Holt Bill HR 811 continued to permit the use of DREs and with the voter verified paper audit trail would have been acceptable to use in an election.

Black Box Voting discussed the issue at quite some length.

As for Pennsylvania and Marybeth Kuznik's reply in the Wired posting, while it provides a good argument about PA laws requiring a secret ballot which the paper trails wouldn't have met, it's likely to qualify for the monies from HR 811, the state would have rushed to adopt some form of paper trails for the DREs.

See our previous posts in the sidebar, or conduct a search from the top left of the page.

It's important to put things in perspective. When election integrity people speak, we have to wonder, who are they? Why do some want paper ballots only counted by hand, when others find it acceptable to provide for the voter verified paper audit trail?

We're just following along, sharing our findings here in the interest of truth.

Note: Paul Lehto mentioned:

BLOGGED BY John Gideon ON 7/12/2006 12:54PM
BREAKING: Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia Sued By Competitor for Patent Infringment!
Avante International Technology Corporation Files Suit Against Use of Paper Trail Printer, Op Scan Technology by Voting Machine Giants...

Inventor of Electronic Voting Verification System Takes Industry Giants to Court for Patent Infringement Wednesday July 12, 11:19 am ET

SimmonsCooper Files Lawsuit on Behalf of AVANTE International Technology Corporation

"AVANTE isn't the only victim here," said Paul Lesko, the SimmonsCooper lawyer representing AVANTE. "Local governments, acting in good faith in determining which electronic voting system would serve the needs of their districts, also have every reason to be upset at these companies.

"We believe the evidence will show that these companies sold infringing equipment to public officials, and that they did so consciously, with knowledge of AVANTE's intellectual property," added Mr. Lesko.

SimmonsCooper is seeking damages and an injunction on behalf of AVANTE.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3061

See our past posts.


The following contains posts excerpted from:

Holt Paper-Trail Election Bill Dead? -- UPDATE: Not Dead Yet
By Kim Zetter July 18, 2007 | 11:01:02 PM

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/07/holt-paper-trai.html

Rep. Holt is not being an honest broker in this debate. He has ties to (and an office next to) Avante International which will reap millions in profits if the Holt Bill passes.

http://markcrispinmiller.blogspot.com/2007/07/rush-holt-hr-811-and-avante.html

Paper trails don't fix the problem, and none of the DRE companies are going to turn over their source code. You can’t have honest elections with proprietary, for-profit DRE companies running the show.

This bill is a band aid that won't make the elections more honest.

Posted by: Dr. John R. Moffett | Jul 19, 2007 11:48:04 AM

The bill, if passed, would give PA paper trails instead of paperless DREs and it would be easy as pie to steal 3 to 5% or more of the vote and it would pass all the Holt audits or any other audit or recount, because paper will be equal to electronic. Only with Holt passed, even many activists would be fooled.

Some know of what I speak, some don't. Those who know of the studies that suggest or show that this can be done and support HR 811 or any other "audit" proposal ought to be deathy curious to fund studies to disprove somehow the existing studies that the paper trails don't work to properly capture voter INTENT. Moving forward to pass the bill in the face of about 3 uncontradicted studies is reckless like racing down a mountain road after seeing a sign that says "road damage ahead; caution."

Any hacker or rigger would have to be a COMPLETE IDIOT to do anything other than make paper MATCH electronic, especially when they know there will be audits. So auditing to see if paper matches electronic is like nailing down one corner of the picnic tablecloth on a very windy day.

Posted by: Paul Lehto | Jul 19, 2007 2:23:03 PM

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/07/holt-paper-trai.html

Paul Lehto said, "The bill, if passed, would give PA paper trails..."

WRONG, Paul. If HR 811 as it came out of Committee passed today the bill would give PA 100% Optical Scan, because there is NOTHING ELSE currently available that will both comply with the bill AND comply with our PA State Constitution.

Paper trails as they currently exist are ILLEGAL in Pennsylvania.

Posted by: Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA.us | Jul 19, 2007 5:00:09 PM

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/07/holt-paper-trai.html

For those care for the truth and facts, please read our reply to these unfounded smearing between Holt and AVANTE.

http://www.avantetech.com/uploads/pdf/Clarification%20of%20AVANTE%20voting%20system%20position-FINAL.pdf

For those that are too busy to read, here is the summary:
AVANTE’s positions and actions:
1. AVANTE has deep respect for the tireless efforts by the election integrity activists, academics and technology experts. Their efforts have contributed to the many and continuous improvements of the voting systems and processes.

2. AVANTE respects the desire to have open sources in election system or having the voting system as transparent as possible. Our company software is always available for scrutiny. We differ in the feasibility of having ALL of the source codes made available for at least in the near term of five to 10 years without dramatic lowering in the voting system accessibility requirements in HAVA.

3. AVANTE believes that the current problems in electronic voting systems are related to the design and engineering rather than the solution and concept. AVANTE have proven that all of the specific problems known and caused tremendous constellation have a solution.

4. AVANTE affirmed that it is suing all of the largest competitors for patent infringements. However, we also continue to offer licensing whenever they are ready.

5. AVANTE is located in Mercer County NJ. The company has never donated to any national parties or political leaders. All of the company’s founders and stockholders have not donated to any national elected officials with more than $100.

6. AVANTE does not belong to any trade lobbying organizations and has not joined the Election Technology Council or its predecessor ITAA. AVANTE continues to maintain its independence and voice of supports to the those promoting election integrity.

7. AVANTE believes that current optical scan voting systems and processes are much less than equal to the integrity required by the current EAC 2005 voting system standards dictating the DRE with VVPR. They lack the ability to prevent tampering once the ballots have been submitted.

8. AVANTE continues its commitment and efforts in selling its paging and full-face DRE with properly engineered and designed VVPR.

9. AVANTE continues its commitment and efforts in selling its ballot marking device as well as precinct-based optical scan system that captures the digital image of each ballot and show the voters as exactly how the system is registering their ballots not just having over-voted or under-voted contests.

Posted by: Kevin Chung, CEO, AVANTE | Jul 21, 2007 6:28:33 PM

Avante quoted me -- a little out of context. Here's what I wrote in response:

http://gnosis.python-hosting.com/voting-project/July.2007/0027.html

Posted by: Alan Dechert | Jul 25, 2007 7:31:11 AM

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/07/holt-paper-trai.html

More and related

DRE systems offered by AVANTE feature redundant ballot result storage devices whose data can be verified against voting machine printed "cut-and-drop" paper records previously verified by the voter. The records are then dropped into and secured inside a uniquely designed voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) printer ballot box

http://www.avantetech.com/products/elections/dre/

Clarification of AVANTE’s position on Election and Voting System Integrity
(Rev. A June 18, 2007)
AVANTE International Technology, Inc., Princeton Junction, New Jersey 08550
www.vote-trakker.com
In recent weeks, AVANTE found itself being cited as an unwilling participant of a national debate on voting system

http://www.wheresthepaper.org/AVANTEclarifiesPosition070618.pdf

On the issue of AVANTE being located in Mercer County, New Jersey, the home State of Congressman Holt
AVANTE, as a company has not contributed any money to any politician including Congressman Holt. None of the owners have donated more than $100 to any national figure or party.
The fact that the company and Congressman Holt happen to reside in Mercer County NJ is coincidental. The coincidence also applies to Mercer County based Princeton University and many of their professors involved in election integrity. For the record, the company and its founders have been residing in Mercer County for at least 27 years and more than 37 years in the State of New Jersey.
As a company, we have not received any favorable treatment from our home State of NJ or from any national elected officials. This fact is self-evident.
For the record, AVANTE intentionally keeps an arm-length relationship with those involved in election integrity as to avoid potential allegations such as those we are seeing today. We will continue to provide help to those that make requests. That includes things like loaning a DRE with VVPR and facilities free-of-charge for a Newsweek article on Ms Rebecca Mercuri when she was a pro DRE with VVPR expert few years ago...

http://www.avantetech.com/uploads/pdf/Clarification%20of%20AVANTE%20voting%20system%20position-FINAL.pdf

Automark and Avante

this post is an effort to find out who is who. Where are these companies operating? Where are their products adopted and certified for use? Who owns stock in these companies, and so forth and so on... where do they testify? The following was obtained from net searches using Google and different key terms.

Example

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22kevin+chung%22+avante+international+vote+trakker&btnG=Search


April 15, 2003

http://www.sos.nh.gov/HAVA/voting%20machines%20trade%20fair%20report.htm

Kevin Chung tesifies May 5, 2004

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:7BAPAkOHhu0J:www.eac.gov/News/meetings/050504/ploneexfile.2006-04-18.0069532065/attachment_download/file+%22kevin+chung%22+%22rush+holt%22+science+avante+international&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us

More

http://www.eac.gov/election/practices/bpea/ack

web references

http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Chung_Kevin_22506100.aspx

Kevin Chung visits seminar Princeton 2004

http://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/fall04/frs125/schedule.html

June 8, 2006
Small Business
A Foot in the Door of the Voting Booth
By ELLEN ROSEN
With midterm elections only months away, state and local officials nationwide are in the midst of a somewhat troubled transition to electronic voting systems. Two newcomers hope that the security and reliability problems that have emerged will give them a leg up.

The upstarts — AutoMark Technical Systems and Avante International Technology — evolved from the inspiration of two entrepreneurs. AutoMark began with Eugene M. Cummings, a Chicago patent lawyer who conceived a system to assist the disabled in voting. Avante sprang from the persistence of a New Jersey entrepreneur, Kevin Chung, who devised an electronic voting system after he witnessed the troubled presidential election of 2000.

For these men, the immersion in a new and largely unfamiliar industry has been something of a quixotic journey. "We earned our M.B.A. the hard way," said Joseph Vanek, another Chicago lawyer who is co-founder of AutoMark. "But we conceived an idea, made a product and brought it to market."...

...Still, the obstacles were many. Mr. Chung had no experience in the field — his company, Avante International Technology, based in Princeton Junction, N.J., produces electronics adhesives and has experience in the smart card industry. Revenue, Mr. Chung says, is about $10 million.

Undeterred, he filed a patent application for such a machine within days of the election. Then, using savings and company resources, he hired two engineering firms for a bakeoff to see which could turn his idea into a more concrete proposal.

By March 2001, the company had a prototype that allowed voters to see the entire ballot along with a paper record that confirmed their choices. Shortly afterward, his company's representatives, lugging the machines, hit the field to demonstrate what it calls a full-face ballot touch screen to local political leaders and the public.

"We went almost five years without any income — everyone in my company hated me," Mr. Chung said. "I had anticipated some problems, but five years is a long time."

The company finally met with some success in 2005, when it won its first contract, from Warren County, N.J...


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/08/business/08sbiz.html?pagewanted=print

E-Voting Machines Exposed by Task Force

By KIMBERLY FELICIANO
In late June, the Brennan Center Task Force on Voting System Security, an initiative of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, released a report and policy proposals concluding that all three of the nation’s most commonly purchased electronic voting systems are vulnerable to software attacks that could threaten the integrity of a state or national election. Those three are electronic machines (DREs) with—and without—a voter verified paper trail, and precinct-counted optical scan systems (PCOS).

The Task Force spent more than a year conducting the analysis and drafting The Machinery of Democracy: Protecting Elections in an Electronic World. The methodology, analysis, and text were “extensively peer reviewed” by the National Institute of Standards and Technology...

Photo

Kevin Chung, CEO of AVANTE International Technology developed an e-voting machine that prints a paper record. Partnered with Dell Computer, Arrow Electronics, and Microsoft E-Government System, they offer to provide California with all 10,000 units for this year’s election.

http://www.fourthbranchofamerica.com/voting_machines_exposed.shtml

Avante Optical Vote Trakker

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:-6zWhrHgbcgJ:www.workingforchange.com/webgraphics/lobby_packet%2520wd%2520-%2520FINAL1.pdf+%22kevin+chung%22+rush+holt+avante+international+board+directors&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us

Avante International Technology Corporation Files Suit Against Use of Paper Trail Printer, Op Scan Technology by Voting Machine Giants

BLOGGED BY John Gideon ON 7/12/2006 12:54PM

Inventor of Electronic Voting Verification System Takes Industry Giants to Court for Patent Infringement

Wednesday July 12, 11:19 am ET

SimmonsCooper Files Lawsuit on Behalf of AVANTE International Technology Corporation

EAST ALTON, Ill., July 12 /PRNewswire/ --- SimmonsCooper LLC has filed a lawsuit against the three largest voting machine manufacturers for infringing AVANTE International Technology Corporation's Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and optical scan patents.

Named in the suit are Diebold Election Systems, Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S), and Sequoia Voting Systems. The suit was filed on behalf of Kevin Chung, CEO of Avante International Technology Corporation, Inc., who invented VVPAT.

AVANTE's VVPAT and optical scanning (which includes automatic ballot marking) patents allow voters to verify that their electronically-cast ballots are being accurately counted while also allowing for auditability between the paper record and the electronic record.

The AVANTE technology directly addresses widespread skepticism about the integrity of electronic voting, solving a problem that has threatened to undermine public faith in a process tainted in recent elections by allegations of computer manipulation.

"AVANTE isn't the only victim here," said Paul Lesko, the SimmonsCooper lawyer representing AVANTE...


http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3061

Business Point of View: A Better Voting System

...Avante now awaits what may be its first major order from its home state of New Jersey in the pending RFQ. New Jersey has been given millions of dollars of federal funds to update its voting systems in all 21 counties to meet the mandate of the 2002 enacted "Help America Vote Act." Almost all of the current voting systems in New Jersey do not meet the HAVA mandates.

Besides pioneering the making and usage of a voting system with a "paper record audit trail" that is voter verified, Avante also pioneered the first online voter registration system that captures biometric digitized signature. The captured biometric digitized signature not only reduces the memory requirement to 300 bytes from 50 Kbytes of typical digitized signature from paper, it is a patented technology that can play back the signing motion like a movie (minus the presence of the person of course). Any layman or judge can view the movie to verify if someone actually signed the document.

Avante is now working with partners such as Dell, Computer Associates, etc. in bidding on a contract for the State of New Jersey to provide a uniform Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS) that will eliminate duplicate voter registration as well as provide better voter assistance. Any voter can print out a map to their polling place or preview the layout of the polling place in pictures. Voters can be assured of their data's privacy better than all other states' SVRS if the New Jersey chooses to use the Avante system that provide an optional biometric digitized signature authentication before any election official can log onto the database.

http://www.princetoninfo.com/200410/41027f01.html

Tags for Goats, Pills, and Key Chains
Think RFID tags for goats, pills, and key chains. Kevin Chung of Avante Technologies on Washington Road is riding the RFID bandwagon by selling tags to the United States Department of Agriculture for $2 per goat. His tags also help the Food and Drug Administration prevent drug counterfeits. And every year he sells from 1 million to 3 million loyalty card chips in key fobs to private companies. His website touts using RFID to monitor which conventioneers attend which seminars and which drugs a patient has taken.

"RFID is an exciting area and it has a lot of potential applications," says Chung, "but it is not a full grown business. We started quite a few years ago. We are not the biggest guy playing in this area but we have a lot of patents." Chung predicts RFID technology will explode in 2006 now that Wal-Mart has finished its beta testing and manufacturers are primed and ready to go.

Chung went to Rutgers, Class of 1974, and earned his PhD from Rutgers as well. After working for RCA he founded his firm in 1985 and moved to this location seven years ago; he has 50 employees. His wife, Cynthia Chu, is also a principal in the firm, and they have two grown children.

Currently he devotes only 20 percent of the business to RFID. One of his companies, AI Technologies, manufactures materials for the computer, communications, and power supply industries; it also provides services to these industries. Among the products are films, pastes, and gels that guard against heat, the great enemy of computers and other electronic products. AIT also manufactures adhesives and epoxy materials that can substitute for solder. Under the company name Avante International Technologies, Chung has developed a voting machine, Vote Trakker, that issues paper records for verification (U.S. 1, October 27, 2004).

http://www.princetoninfo.com/200511/51109c02.html

Rep. Rush Holt

Rush Holt, 59, is a resident of Hopewell Township, N.J. Born in West Virginia he inherited his interest in politics from his parents. His father was the youngest person ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate, at age 29. His mother served as Secretary of State of West Virginia and was the first woman to have held that position.

Rep. Holt earned his B.A. in Physics from Carleton College in Minnesota and completed his Master’s and Ph.D. at NYU. He has held positions as a teacher, Congressional Science Fellow, and arms control expert at the U.S. State Department where he monitored the nuclear programs of countries such as Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and the former Soviet Union. From 1989 until he launched his 1998 congressional campaign, Holt was Assistant Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, the largest research facility of Princeton University and the largest center for research in alternative energy in New Jersey. He has conducted extensive research on alternative energy and has his own patent for a solar energy device. Holt was also a five-time winner of the game show “Jeopardy.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-rush-

holt

Felten E-voting hack fuels pre-election debate (Rush Holt mentioned)

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:2Tc1C0sq2DQJ:engineering.princeton.edu/eqnews/EQN_W06.pdf+rush+holt+princeton+plasma+kevin+chung&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us

April 17, 1997

Session A4. FED, FPS: Trends in Federal Support of Science Education. Stephens, Weimer, Vanski, Wheeler. Auditorium, Renaissance. Chair: Rush Holt, Princeton University Plasma

http://flux.aps.org/meetings/YR97/BAPSAPR97/Program.html

... high5, Stockholm said on 7/16/2006 @ 2:43 am PT...

or, this is just another clever psy-op making people beleive the shit about paper trails securing anything.

This is what gives it away:

AVANTE's VVPAT and optical scanning (which includes automatic ballot marking) patents allow voters to verify that their electronically-cast ballots are being accurately counted while also allowing for auditability between the paper record and the electronic record.

Anyone heard of Avante before?

http://test.bradblog.com/?p=3061

Rebecca Mercuri: Holt and Avante Backyard Buddies

Delving a bit deeper into the Rush Holt array of voting protection measures and legislative presentations, we find a piece by Rebecca Mercuri, Connecting the Dots? Rush Holt, HR 811, and Avante International. See the following for Mercuri Method and patent of "something."

Mercuri, Rebecca T., “Physical Verifiability of Computer Systems,” Notable Software, 1997. “Voters Prefer To See Their Votes Recorded On Paper

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7111782.html

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7111782-claims.html

We have to be aware of any connections any legislator anywhere has with any company or owners of companies which promote a product designed to solve electronic voting machine (paperless) "problems." That's all we can do. Lay out as much info as possible for ourselves and your information.

See our follow-up posting about Avante's in-depth response to Mercuri and others

http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/02/rep-rush-holt-hr-811-avante.html

Why did this issue arise today of all days? New Jersey had voting machine problems in a district where NJ Governor Corzine votes.

http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/02/nj-super-tuesday-voting-machine.html

The situation has to raise eyebrows. You'd think every single district would have run tests for two months knowing the law in NJ at some point is going to be implemented to require a Voter verified paper ballot.

Net the Truth Online

Connecting the Dots? Rush Holt, HR 811, and Avante International
SOURCE: OpEdNews July 13, 2007

Connecting the Dots? Rush Holt, HR 811, and Avante International
Holt and Avante -- Backyard Buddies By Rebecca Mercuri
Consider this scenario: If Avante wins its patent lawsuit against the "big three" vendors, HR 811 could bring billions of dollars to Holt's home district. Here's how it could happen...

...In a one-two punch, Avante's key patent, #7036730 "Electronic Voting Aparatus, System and Method," also includes claims that pertain to "a Braille device," "an aural device," and "voice recognition apparatus."(3) Conveniently, Holt's bill happens to also include requirements that there be "at least one voting system equipped for individuals with disabilities at each polling place" that "allows the voter to privately and independently verify the individual, durable paper ballot through the conversion of the human-readable printed or marked vote selections into accessible form."

So, Avante could be the "spoiler" in thwarting implementation of Holt's bill, if the court rules in their favor and they (or the Judge) choose to recall or destroy all of the deployed and infringing VVPAT and disability accessible voting equipment, just a few months prior to the November 2008 Presidential election. Alternatively, all of HR 811's $1B, plus a potentially large chunk of the prior $3B bonanza that voting system vendors had received from the 2002 HAVA legislation, may wander back to Holt's election district, since Avante, as Mark Crispin Miller recently noted (4), just happens to be located in his "backyard."...

...Ultimately what emerged in Holt's revised bill is a requirement that could potentially become the first Federal law to instantiate the use of nondisclosure agreements for voting systems (unless State laws waive them) and to further provide that such agreements "shall be governed by the trade secret laws of the applicable State." Despite this explicit vendor-partisan language, various Holt support groups, such as the dubiously-named People For the American Way, have continued to falsely claim that "Rep. Holt's bill requires ... for ALL federal elections starting in 2008: ... No Secret Source Code – ALL voting machine vendors MUST make the machines' software available for inspection" (10) when, in fact, exactly the OPPOSITE is what this bill now says! Interestingly, Holt's own FAQ sheet on the bill (11) entirely avoids mentioning that there's been a complete reversal on his earlier "open source" stance and focuses on activist bashing along with hammering home the fact that the bill does not ban DRE's (great for Avante, since they believe they hold the key patents on the VVPAT DREs).

If any of the above bothers you, try contacting Holt directly (even though you probably won't be satisfied with the response), or better yet, spread the word and let your own congressperson know that this bad piece of compromised and potentially pork-barrel legislation for Holt's "backyard buddy" is far worse than no legislation at all.

http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/node/view/4334

Not to make things more complicated, but Rebecca Mercuri's site credits her with inventing the Voter Verified Balloting concept.

One needs to look at the information concerning the "Mercuri Method" as presented in her own works - importantly those that pre-date 2000.

The Mecuri method is named after Rebecca Mercuri who described it in a March 1992 paper entitled "Physical Verifiability of Computer Systems." Her PhD Thesis at the University of Pennsylvania in 2000 further elaborated on the topic.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercuri_method

While the paper is mentioned, "Physical Verifiability of Computer Systems," Rebecca T. Mercuri, 5th International Computer Virus and Security Conference, March, 1992, the site doesn't contain a link to the paper.

From Mercuri's site

http://www.notablesoftware.com/rmercuri.html

A Better Ballot Box (2002)

http://www.notablesoftware.com/Papers/1002evot.pdf

http://www.ncvoter.net/opticalscan.html

We tracked these issues since year 2000 in VoteFix. See sidebar.

NJ Super Tuesday Voting Machine Problems Poster for EASY Bill

Update

Corzine's voting glitch a result of human error
by Ken Thorbourne
Tuesday February 05, 2008, 12:16 PM
Gov. Jon Corzine vote was delayed this morning due to human error, said Clerk of the Board of Elections Michael Harper.

Instead of activating the voting machine for a primary election, which distinguishes between Democrats and Republicans, the poll worker activated the machine as if it were a general election, Harper said.

As a result, when a voter went to cast a vote in the Democratic presidential contest, the machine wouldn't allow the vote to be cast, Harper said.

Officers with Corzine's Executive Protection Unit, who were about to bring the governor in to vote around 6 a.m. at the Hoboken Fire Department Engine Co. No. 2, ran outside, followed by a trail of TV cameras, saying the machine was broken, Harper said.

http://www.nj.com/hudsoncountynow/index.ssf/2008/02/corzines_voting_glitch_a_resul.html

New Jersey report two machines weren't working, according to a report on Fox's programming this morning.

About a dozen people were turned away. Including state Governor Corzine.

Critics are wondering why no provisionals or emergency paper ballots were provided? The machines were operational later, when Governor Corzine returned to vote in that district.

This is U.S. Congressman Rush Holt's domain, and seriously now people, you'd think these local officials would have known better given the Congressman has been proposing voter verified paper audit trails for the DREs, in his earlier legislation known as HB 811, which was criticized for a variety of reasons, but nonetheless, supported by others.

Holt's more recently sponsored legislation H.R. 5036 known as the EASY bill (though shouldn't that be EEAS-EA) will surely look a lot more appetizing, won't it?

Emergency Election Assistance for Secure Elections Act (H.R. 5036) – the “EASY” bill to secure the November 2008 elections

http://holt.house.gov/voting.shtml

http://holt.house.gov/HR_5036.shtml

Really now, isn't this the stuff that makes you think of a twist on the conspiracy theory that the machines fail (vulnerable to tampering) to assure more votes for a particular candidate other than the choice of the people? Who is Corzine supporting?

Will New Jersey become the rally poster for Holt's EASY bill?

Isn't it odd that the one place the New Jersey Governor shows up to vote has voting machine problems?

Wonder where Congressman Rush Holt votes. How much you want to bet there will be no problems with the voting machines there? Wonder whether Holt voted absentee?

Now that we have this situation happening in New Jersey, to a Democrat Governor, and we are wondering whether Rush Holt encountered any problems at his precinct, we're on a mission to discover all sorts of relationships.

We're tracking Avante International and whether there is any connection between Avante's patented products and others who might have a hand in whether such as Avante's products are adopted in the state of New Jersey.

We're also tracking Automark.

(Net the Truth Online)

New Jersey Voting Machines News

http://uspolitics.einnews.com/news/new-jersey-voting-machines

Voting machine problems delay Corzine at poll
Tuesday, February 5, 2008

New Jersey's governor has cast his vote in the state's presidential primary after there were problems at his polling place.

Jon S. Corzine was scheduled to cast his ballot at 6:15 a.m at the Hoboken Fire Department Engine Company No. 2.

Two voting machines didn't work for about 45 minutes and about a dozen voters were turned away. There was no word what caused the problem.

Just before 7 a.m., Corzine arrived and was able to cast his ballot.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080205/NEWS01/80205011/1006/NEWS01

Corzine can't vote because of poll problems
by The Associated Press
Tuesday February 05, 2008, 7:17 AM
Gov. Jon Corzine was unable to vote this morning at his designated polling site in Hoboken because the voting machines were not working.

Corzine was scheduled to cast his ballot at 6:15 a.m at the Hoboken Fire Department Engine Company No. 2. But the two machines aren't working, and it's not clear why.

http://www.nj.com/news/

Oprah Fixes Voting Glitch; Scattered Problems with Machines
Report: Six States, Including N.Y. and N.J., at 'High Risk' for Vote Machine Malfunctions

...New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, who has endorsed Hillary Clinton, had to wait for almost an hour to vote this morning because voting machines didn't work at his polling place, the Hoboken Fire Department Engine Company No. 2. About a dozen voters were turned away and it was unclear what caused the problem.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4240895&page=1

Posted by brucetheboss on 02/05/08 at 9:15AM
hudson county is probably the most corrupt county in the country. this is probably a huge political stunt and i'll be interested to see what else develops later in the day.


http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/02/corzine_cant_vote_because_of_p.html

Several States Abandon Electronic Voting for Paper
by Pam Fessler

Morning Edition, January 25, 2008 · Only a few primaries and caucuses have been held so far this year, but questions are already being raised about the reliability of voting equipment.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18399431

Voting machines will lack paper trail
Judge grants an extension on election technology

By Doug Eshleman
Princetonian Staff Writer

As required by Federal law, all voters casting ballots in the presidential primary election early next year will use a fully computerized voting system. But, for New Jersey voters, there will be no physical record of the votes, as the technology used to produce verified paper ballots are not yet deemed reliable enough to be used in a real election, according to an official test conducted by the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Citing these concerns, a New Jersey Supreme Court judge ruled last week to grant an extension to Sequoia Voting Systems, despite the fact that the company has thus far failed to effectively retrofit the voting machines it designed for the state.

http://www.electionguardians.org/media/www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2007/09/27/news/The%20Daily%20Princetonian%20-%20Voting%20machines%20will%20lack%20paper%20trail.htm

Half of NJ's presidential primary ballot now obsolete
By TOM HESTER Jr.
The Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. - When New Jerseyans go to vote Tuesday to decide Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, half the ballot will be obsolete.

And it's too late for those who already voted by absentee ballot for dropped-out candidates.

Six candidates who dropped out are listed on the state's ballot because they ended their campaigns after New Jersey's ballots were printed.

People can still vote for them, but it would be a symbolic vote, if anything, because the candidates are no longer garnering the delegates needed to earn their party's nomination at the summer conventions.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/104-01312008-1480416.html

Primer on NJ primary: What you need to know
by The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
Tuesday February 05, 2008, 9:30 AM

Q: How do unaffiliated voters declare a party to participate in the primary?

A: At the polling places, poll workers will ask unaffiliated voters to declare themselves Democrats or Republicans. The voter is then registered in that party and may vote in the primary. No forms are required, though normal proof of idenfication may be requested.

Q: Can a Democrat or Republican change parties on Election Day to vote in a different primary?

A: No. The deadline to switch party affiliation passed in December.

Q: Can voters switch their status back to unaffiliated once they voted in the primary?

A: Yes. Voters may fill out a form with their county election office after the primary to become unaffiliated again.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/02/primer_on_nj_primary_what_you.html

Legislation signed, vetoed by Corzine
by The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
Tuesday January 15, 2008, 9:21 PM

Signed Monday, with statements:

S-507/A-2730 (Gill/Gusciora) - Requires mandatory audit of election results in randomly selected election districts.

Signed Sunday:

S-2949/A-4585 (Weinberg, Scutari/Roberts, Chivukula) - Changes deadline for voter-verified paper record of votes cast on voting machines to June 3, 2008.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/01/listing_of_bills_signed_into_l.html

Related

Rush Holt NJ 12th District

http://holt.house.gov/district.shtml

Rush Holt, 59, is a resident of Hopewell Township, N.J. Born in West Virginia he inherited his interest in politics from his parents. His father was the youngest person ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate, at age 29. His mother served as Secretary of State of West Virginia and was the first woman to have held that position.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-rush-holt

Beltway Boys: Establishment Candidates Cheering Team

Everywhere they go, the Beltway Boys have been stumping for the two "Eestablishment" candidates, Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

They did it again on Fox 'n Friends. Mitt Romney has a "long way to go." McCain will take the winner-take-all states coming up like New York.

so already, the pair are kissing Romney goodbye.

Others have done the same, yet in some of the Super Tuesday states, like huge California, Romney is points ahead in the polls than McCain.

Mike Huckabee just looks like he's plugging his book along the way, gaining notoriety, ka-ching, ka-ching. He's got Chuck Norris on his team, but has anybody noticed what little Norris actually has to say when speaking, while he's quite wordy in his columns for World Net Daily? Wonder if Norris uses a "ghostwriter?"

Sean Hannity is guesting on the morning Fox program.

Martha, or whoever, says: The national polls show McCain is the candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton.

Right, Martha, keep telling the voters out here she's the one, and McCain is the only one to beat her, and maybe the people will believe.

It's the same with those dismissing Barack Obama.

Hannity shocks: "anybody can beat Hillary."

Hannity says he is voting for Mitt Romney.

"A vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain, or half-a-vote," says Hannity.

So what's McCain about

McCain voted for the stem cell research, according to Romney says Juan Williams to Megyn Kelly...

More

"How the Media Frames Political Issues"
By Scott London
POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE NEWS MEDIA

http://www.scottlondon.com/reports/frames.html

PA Hotel Tax Politicians Get More Will Spend

Ayn Rand and Harry Brown's complete works should be read by two commissioners who may agree a local hotel occupancy tax should be implemented for the county.

No tax is a beneficial tax especially when government doesn't cut back on the things they should not be doing. Whoever said tourism was the domain of government?

Why government, Julia, government.

F.A. Hayek put it best in his book, Road to Serfdom. Taxation is the road.

The hotel occupancy tax is like every other tax whether it is on a certain segment of individual's or spread across the board such as a sales tax on goods and services.

Used by government to create more programs, such taxes merely suck the lifeblood out of the area.

Once you allow another tax, somehow and someway, what happens, other costs of providing a service go up.

Hotels which have to impose and collect the tax won't suffer the cost. As any good businessperson knows, they've got to survive or go bankrupt. So the hotel as a business will raise the cost of the room, and other costs such as providing towels will go up, too.

That's how taxation works. Taxation is the road. To serfdom.

As these costs go up, what will happen? The wages of the hotel's personnel won't rise. Employees won't have more money in their pockets to spend and encourage the economy to grow by that spending.

The county is already in a distressed condition. Perpetually so, it seems. So tax somebody more to get more revenue for yet another program run by government or quasi-government which depends on tax dollars to survive.

That's exactly what doesn't work. Never has never will.

The hotel tax will put a damper on the local economy, not stimulate the local economy.

For that reason alone board members Vincent Zapotosky and Vincent Vicites should rethink positions on adopting the local hotel occupancy tax.

Let private enterprise do what it does best. Provide the best hotel and service it can and as more outsiders/tourists come into the area because of that, the other businesses in the area such as restaurants benefit.

Whenever you tax something, guess what, you get less of it, not more.

(Net the Truth Online)

Principle No. 4 summary: Does this tax generate revenue in a fair manner?

The Principle of Fair Revenue Generation maintains that it is unreasonable to assess special fees or levies on specific goods or services. This proposal places a special fee on a specific service, and therefore does not generate revenue in a fair manner.


http://traveltax.msu.edu/taskforce/case1_principals.htm

Hotel Occupancy Tax

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/061/chapter38/chap38toc.html

Who's exempt?

Ambassadors, ministers and consular officers of foreign governments.

Fayette may OK hotel room tax
02/05/2008
Updated 02/04/2008 10:00:23 PM EST

Fayette County may be on its way to enacting a hotel room tax that could generate more than a half-million dollars annually and save the county a $20,000 a year payment to a tourism agency.

Fayette County Commission Chairman Vincent Zapotosky and Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites recently met with tourism officials to discuss the possibility of enacting a hotel occupancy tax, and Zapotosky said he plans to place the issue on the monthly February meeting for a vote. If enacted, the county could impose a tax on hotel rooms of up to 3 percent, the proceeds of which would be used for tourism promotion at the discretion of the board of commissioners.

Zapotosky said last week's meeting ended up being a "good informal discussion" and plans are to come up with a proposal and get it passed.

Zapotosky said there have been some "creative ideas for the use of our share."

Vicites said he believes enacting the tax is in the best interest of the county because the majority of the state's 67 counties already have such a tax.

"There are only two other counties that don't have it," Vicites said.

Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink, who said she was against the tax during the campaign and who did not attend the meeting, is still against it, but said she will do her part to ensure the distribution of any grant funds is fair.

"The hotel tax is bad economics because money is better off circulated through the economy instead of being removed in the form of taxation and redistributed by bureaucratic agencies," Zimmerlink said.

Although she is against implementation of the tax, Zimmerlink said she would do her part to ensure politics doesn't play a role in selecting grant recipients.

"While I do not support this new tax I realize that my two fellow commissioners will pass it so I have to do my part in assuring fairness and non-preselective disbursements," Zimmerlink said.

"My fellow commissioners should also publicly explain their education component because it has been said that a percentage of the hotel tax revenue may be given to a local education institution to develop a new program," Zimmerlink said. "The uses of the hotel tax proceeds should be distributed in the manner my fellow commissioners voiced during their campaigns and explain any position changes."


http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19262837&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

Hillary Clinton: Chapter: Her Crying Eyes

Hillary Clinton: Chapter: Her Crying Eyes. Who can stop coming up with the great one liners, once they catch on? Whining her way to the White House...

According to the Tribune Co.'s politics blog, the Swamp, Clinton teared up after a heartfelt introduction by a former colleague at the Yale Child Study Center in New Haven, where she worked in college. The emotional speech led "Clinton's eyes to fill with tears, which she wiped out of her left eye," reads the report...

When will the public start wiping away the fog from their eyes? Maybe after reading Hillary Clinton will grnish their wages to pay for their health care, even if they choose not to go out and spend any on their health care at this time cause after all they're only 21 years old and in good health?

But Hillary will only garnish the wages of somebody who has money? Well who are we complaining about doesn't have health care? Not the people who have oodles of money and CAN AFFORD HEALTH CARE. They're talking about the impoverished, who make minimum wages and can't affort health care and their employer may not pay for it.

(And what illegal alien in a job with a fake id and social security card wants to risk opting into health care with more potential for being discovered being in the country illegally?)

Hillary suggests snatching wages

WFebruary 3, 2008ill Hillary Clinton as president tap into workers' wages to achieve her goal of health insurance for all Americans?

The possibility exists as the candidate was pressed on the matter during a television interview today.

Speaking on ABC's "This Week" program, the Democratic senator from New York said she might be willing to have wages garnisheed if people refuse to buy health insurance.

"I think universal health care is a core Democratic value and a moral principle, and I'm absolutely gonna do everything I can to achieve that," Clinton said. "I think there are a number of mechanisms" possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment."

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=60029

"Leave Hillary alone..."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4383421

Establishment Presidential Candidates

John McCain and Hillary Clinton are the establishment candidates.

Catch the Fox News mini-debate between the pair, exclusively?

Why weren't Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee part of the limited time?

Fox News wasn't fair in that approach of exclusion.

Meanwhile it's all over between Democrat candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama according to Reuters since Hillary Clinton may unite Republicans Mon Feb 4, 2008.


Washington Post article glowing with slant towards McCain. Who says McCain is the frontrunner going into Super Tuesday? A few mainstream media sources who cite whatever study of the day shows a slim lead favoring McCain for that moment in time?

GOP Senators Reassess Views About McCain
His Old Foes Still Wary Of His Pugnacious Style
By Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 4, 2008; A01

Now, with the conservative maverick on the brink of securing his party's presidential nomination...

Sensing the increasing likelihood that he will be the nominee...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/03/AR2008020303242_pf.html

ACU's David Keene Says Press Favors McCain
Sunday, February 3, 2008 5:56 PM
By: Ronald Kessler Article Font Size

John McCain is largely a creation of the media, David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union, tells Newsmax.

“McCain has gotten a free ride from the media,” says Keene, who has endorsed Mitt Romney for president. “Indeed, he’s gotten better treatment than any GOP candidate I can remember.”

While tagging other candidates “flip-floppers,” Keene says “admiring reporters” ignore McCain’s flaws and the fact that he has “changed or obfuscated his position on more issues this cycle than any other candidate. And that’s saying something.”

A lynchpin of the conservative movement, Keene has headed the ACU, the country’s oldest and largest conservative grass-roots lobbying group, since 1984. With one million members, the ACU runs the Conservative Political Action Committee’s (CPAC) annual conference in Washington and publishes an annual Rating of Congress , the gold standard for ideological assessments of members of Congress.

Keene says McCain routinely rewrites his own record, and his version is accepted by the media.

http://www.newsmax.com/kessler/McCain_media_creation/2008/02/03/69766.html

Study Didn't Test Other Products for phthalates presence

It is unfortunate the study cited did not test the other products used by mothers in the study. So how valuable is the study? Useless. Seriously, a fift-grade student conducting a science project or study would know you have to eliminate all other factors to be able to point to one factor as the cause of a certain outcome, whether positive or negative. Geesh. go back to the drawing table.

Chemicals in baby products raise concern
By The Associated Press
Monday, February 4, 2008

Baby shampoos, lotions and powders may expose infants to chemicals that have been linked with possible reproductive problems, a small study suggests.
The chemicals, called phthalates, are found in many ordinary products including cosmetics, toys, vinyl flooring and medical supplies. They are used to stabilize fragrances and make plastics flexible.

In the study, they were found in elevated levels in the urine of babies who'd been recently shampooed, powdered or lotioned with baby products.

Phthalates (pronounced thowl-ates) are under attack by some environmental advocacy groups, but experts are uncertain what dangers, if any, they might pose. The federal government doesn't limit their use, although California and some countries have restricted their use...

... The new study, which appears in February's issue of the journal Pediatrics, involved 163 babies. Most were white, ages 2 to 28 months and living in California, Minnesota and Missouri.

The researchers measured levels of several phthalates in urine from diapers. They also asked the mothers about use in the previous 24 hours of baby products including lotions, powders, diaper creams and baby wipes.

All urine samples had detectable levels of at least one phthalate, and most had levels of several more. The highest levels were linked with shampoos, lotions and powders, and were most prevalent in babies younger than 8 months.

John Bailey, chief scientist at the Personal Care Products Council, questioned the methods and said the phthalates could have come from diapers, lab materials or other sources.

"Unfortunately, the researchers of this study did not test baby care products for the presence of phthalates or control for other possible routes of exposure," Bailey said.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_550704.html

PA DeWeese: In His Own Words: Tax 'n Giveaway

Tax and Give away. The words of Pennsylvania state Democratic leader, H. William DeWeese, may echo all the way to the ballot box. DeWeese doesn't want to embrace a measure proposed by state Republicans, to reduce the state's personal income tax from 3.07 percent to 2.8 percent. Why not. Gotta help those volunteer fire companies, libraries, and senior citizen centers.

Next thing you know there will be a baby car seat center for distribution of new car seats to new mommies so nobody will notice the crumbling state highways and deteriorating local township roads.

And every time our tax dollars - obtained by threat of fines, or tax sale of our residences and businesses for failure to pay non-uniform taxes - are used for these picture-perfect moments that bring tears to our eyes, who's in the photo-op? You? Me?

DeWeese. $1,000 here. $350 there. Whose money is it?

Looks like DeWeese's and the other state lawmakers the way they dole it out - right. Well no. It looks like somebody else's the way they divvy it about. Just around election time, too, we usually see the handshaking every other day at the fire companies, libraries, and senior citizen centers, and baby car seat pick-up centers. Coincidence.

DeWeese doesn't understand the reason to lower the personal income tax for everybody in the state who pays it is to encourage spending because people have more money in their own pockets to spend. That spending stimulates the economy. That economy grows.

What an oxymoron of a headline. Lawmakers expect modest budget. Modest budget in Pennsylvania? When there's a so-called surplus? That means there's more money these people are taking in than even they can find reason to spend right away. So they're reserving the right to spend it instead of giving it back to the people they took it from.

(Net the Truth Online)

Lawmakers expect modest budget
02/04/2008
Updated 02/03/2008 09:00:35 PM EST
By Kori Walter For the Herald-Standard

HARRISBURG - With a national economic slowdown and major pieces of Gov. Ed Rendell's 2007 agenda still unfinished, state lawmakers expect the governor to deliver a fairly modest 2008-2009 budget proposal on Tuesday.

No major new programs, spending or taxes.

House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, raised doubts about whether Rendell will heed some Republican lawmakers' calls for reducing the state's 3.07 percent personal income tax to 2.8 percent.

"One must realize, of course, if we are going to have a state helping our volunteer fire companies and libraries and senior citizen centers, then we will have to weigh whether it's prudent to look for a small tax decrease or to target a limited state surplus toward a variety of worthy causes," he said.

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19260020&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

Related

DeWeese Campaign Expense Search Results

http://www.campaignfinance.state.pa.us/ExpenseSearchResults.aspx?RequestID=14326&StartRow=1&RowsPerPage=10&SortOrder=0

PA CAMPAIGN FINANCE LINKS

http://www.campaignfinance.state.pa.us/

PA Open Records: Publisher: DeWeese Press On Same Page Access

good move on the part of PA state Representative H. William DeWeese. Drop a six-year and counting vendetta libel lawsuit with a newspaper that brings only negative publicity. Who'd have thought, just around election time, too. Oh but that has nothing at all to do with anything, right.

Unappetizing fare when the publisher of the Herald-Standard goes further than OK, that's nice. He's actually falling for DeWeese's portrayal of his "conversion" to support for access to public records, more commonly known as "open records" reform - guess he's a reformer now!

Guess DeWeese's past actions and words don't matter. He's a new man with a new mission - pass open records, pass open records as soon as possible.

The lack of hard questions about the so-called open records details in the DeWeese backed-bill, originally submitted by state General Assembly freshman Rep. Timothy Mahoney, are now explained.

That bill HB 443 provided an exemption for legislative emails Tribune Review's Brad Bumsted slams in his column Shhh! More state secrets.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/bumsted/s_537390.html

Bumsted informs of Babette Josephs' amendment in the article which went down to defeat with DeWeese's 'Nay' vote, meanwhile three other state legislators who represent a portion of the same county as DeWeese voted Yes. Go figure.

Rep. Babette Josephs, chairwoman of the House State Government Committee, last month offered an amendment to remove what the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association calls a "blanket exemption" for lawmakers' e-mail in House Bill 443. The Philadelphia Democrat's amendment was defeated 127-69 with seven members excused.

In our post we review the situation and pose more questions about details, details, those pesky details. Wednesday, January 30, 2008 PA Open Records Reform: Exemption Central

http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/01/pa-open-records-reform-exemption.html

The PA Newspaper Publishers retracted its support for the legislation and instead put its favorable thumb on the Pileggi sponsored Senate measure (with a few tweaks).

Wednesday, October 24, 2007
PA Newspaper Publishers Retract Support for Open Records (Corruption Protection Act)

http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/10/pa-newspaper-publishers-retract-support.html

What more is there to say. It doesn't bother Laub a bit that the Mahoney bill wouldn't have applied to past records, only to those created after the new open-records legislation passed.

Open-records revision passes state Senate
by JAN MURPHY, Of The Patriot-News
Wednesday January 30, 2008, 12:03 PM

...The current draft removes a House-backed provision that would have prevented access to dates of birth. It also makes the law retroactive, covering existing as well as newly created records, another break from what the House had passed.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2008/01/senate_passes_open_records_leg.html

It took the Senate to reverse that in its measure passed unanimously last week.

We'll still have to see what the House approves. Don't look for Laub and the PA Newspaper's Association to question what this new coded language regarding the privacy of individuals really means.

good reason to hide legislative emails...

DeWeese says he wants to move on
By state Rep. Bill DeWeese
02/03/2008
Updated 02/02/2008 08:00:38 PM EST

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19258148&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468562&rfi=6

(Note: PA Newspaper Association created passopenrecords:)

Open records legislation deserves passage
02/03/2008
Updated 02/02/2008 08:00:38 PM EST

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19258149&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468517&rfi=6

Fate of open-records law may hinge on House vote
2/2/2008, 1:56 p.m. EST
By PETER JACKSON
The Associated Press
House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene, and his Republican counterpart, Sam Smith of Jefferson County, said members of their caucuses were concerned the Senate bill might expose more Pennsylvanians to identity theft. Addresses and telephone numbers contained in public records would continue to be available under the bill, as they currently are, but Social Security and driver's license numbers would not.

Barry Kauffman, director of Pennsylvania Common Cause, complained that the Senate bill doesn't go far enough in opening government agencies to public scrutiny.

http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-59/1201979355117380.xml&storylist=penn&thispage=2

Herald-Standard publisher Val Laub in his own words:

Paper, DeWeese settle lawsuit
By Jennifer Harr, Herald-Standard
02/03/2008
Updated 02/03/2008 07:37:49 AM EST
State Rep. H. William DeWeese has dropped the libel lawsuit he filed against the Herald-Standard in 2002.

According to the settlement agreement, DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, will be given space in the newspaper to write a column about the purpose of the lawsuit, and his legislative and reform efforts, both in general and specifically relating to open records laws.

The column is in today's paper on B-2, the editorial page.

Herald-Standard Publisher Val J. Laub said he is pleased that DeWeese dropped the 6-year-old lawsuit.

"It was always about open records, and I now believe DeWeese and the press are on the same page going forward to improve taxpayer access to what we define as public records," Laub said.

"Bill DeWeese has demonstrated his support of the open records legislation. I am happy to put the lawsuit behind us, and we look forward to a positive relationship with Rep. DeWeese from this point on," Laub continued...

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19258469&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

ACLU: voting process disallows correction errors unconstitutional

Update

Judge declines to block voting system in Ohio's Cuyahoga County that critics say hurts voters By M.R. KROPKO , Associated Press

Last update: February 5, 2008 - 7:13 PM


A federal judge refused Tuesday to stop Ohio's most populous county from using an elections system that critics say won't allow voters in the March 4 presidential primary to correct mistakes.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Kathleen O'Malley means Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, can scan and tabulate the paper ballots at a central location, rather than at individual precincts.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/15333846.html

Monday, January 28, 2008
ACLU seeks to block paper voting system in Cuyahoga County

ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND — The American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge on Monday to block the March 4 presidential primary in Ohio’s biggest county if it switches to a paper ballot system that doesn’t allow voters to correct errors.

In a follow-up to a suit it filed Jan. 17, the ACLU of Ohio asked for a preliminary injunction against any election in Cuyahoga County if the switch is made.

The lawsuit argued that the proposed paper-ballot system would violate voters’ constitutional rights because it doesn’t allow them to correct errors on ballots before the ballots are cast.

Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland and has more than 1 million registered voters, plans to send all paper ballots from precincts to a central location to be scanned and counted.

The ACLU alleges that the optical-scan system and centralized vote tabulation would not give voters notice of ballot errors — such as voting for two candidates for one office.

Opponents of the system say scanning should be done immediately at the precinct level to alert voters to such errors and allow them to correct invalid ballots.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen O’Malley set a deadline of next Monday for the Ohio secretary of state and the county elections board to respond to the ACLU and a Feb. 5 hearing on the request for a preliminary injunction.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080128/NEWS09/576274072

See Dan Tokaji Equal Vote Blog for Ohio background

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/blogs/tokaji/2006/04/sixth-circuit-holds-ohio-voting.html

What happened with the VVPATs

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/blogs/tokaji/2006/10/recount-redux-what-might-happen-in.html

Tuesday, December 18
A Hobson's Choice in Cuyahoga County?

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/blogs/tokaji/2007/12/hobsons-choice-in-cuyahoga-county. html

ACLU Asks Judge to Block Cuyahoga County Primary

The ACLU of Ohio on Monday (1/28) filed a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction in ACLU of Ohio v. Brunner(disclosure). The Motion asks the Judge to block the March 4th primary election in Cuyahoga County if the County switches to a paper ballot system that does not allow voters to correct errors. The Judge set a deadline of next Monday (2/4) for the Ohio Secretary of State and the county elections board to respond. A hearing on the Motion is scheduled for February 5th...

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/news/articles.php?ID=259

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/ACLUofOhiov.Brunner.php

PA Property Tax Elimination Must Pass For All or None

All of this politics surrounding so called property tax "elimination." These representatives can't put in simple words what the public wants. Elimination of property taxation, period. doesn't matter if the property tax is used to fund schools, county government, or municipal government.

It all must go because it is unfairly, and not uniformly applied. There are exemptions for some and not for all.

These same representatives can look us in the face and think they're just going to sweep the principles involved in that unfairness off the table. 'Don't let them.

Contrary to what has been suggested by state Representative Timothy Mahoney, we cannot have piecemeal property tax cuts, or only certain segments of our taxpayers having the total elimination of "school" property taxes.

The elimination of property taxes must be for all taxpayers, and the tax elimination must apply to school, municipal and county taxes.

Tax plan scuttled
By Kori Walter, For the Herald-Standard
02/02/2008
Updated 02/02/2008 12:38:44 AM EST

HARRISBURG - Two days after abruptly ending debate on proposals for cutting or eliminating school property taxes, state House Democrats on Friday ditched one of their most comprehensive tax-shifting packages.


The move deepened an already bitter stalemate over the Republicans' desire to eliminate school taxes for only lower-income senior citizens without raising state taxes and the Democrats' push to lower levies for all residential homeowners and farmers by increasing the state sales and income taxes...

...Mahoney was among the Democrats who supported the Perzel plan along with 98 Republicans.

"We have to address this property tax issue one way or the other," he said. "If we have to start with segments of the population, so be it."

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19256930&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6

Fayette's Vicites: Budget Enables Paper Ballot Scanners 2008 Elections

VotePA head, Marybeth Kuznik, doesn't mince the words, does she in supporting the prospect Fayette County may acquire paper ballot based eScans:

"Paperless voting machines are just a recipe for disaster," Kuznik said.

Kuznik's organization maintains a website and message board which features an array of information similarly-minded election-integrity activists can use in efforts to convince commissioners around the Pennsylvania to adopt the tried-and-true paper ballots with the new technology, ballot scanners.

Our focus has been on the ability of the scanners to detect an over-voted paper ballot and enable the voter second chance voting to correct errors, or change their mind about making no selections.

Many get so exasperated with their public officials they don't even bother to show up at the polls. With the technology of the scanners, the verifiability of the voter's intent on the paper ballot, voters have no excuse to stay home. They can show up and cast an under-voted ballot and write-in other candidates or fake names in place of the ballot candidates.

A voice in the choice with some assurance that selection will be recorded accurately.

(Net the Truth Online)

Fayette commissioners consider new voting machines
By Chris Foreman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, February 1, 2008


An electronic voting machine under consideration by Fayette County commissioners looks like a fax machine, acts as a digital scanner and provides a paper trail by collecting the ballots fed into the tray.
Democratic Commissioners Vince Zapotosky and Vince Vicites invited reporters Thursday afternoon to a demonstration of the eScan machine, made by Texas-based Hart InterCivic, the company that supplied the county with 268 eSlate voting systems.

The county spent $1.22 million two years ago to replace its 30-year-old lever-voting system with eSlate machines. Voters use a dial to rotate through the choices in each race before pressing a button to select a candidate.

Most of the funding was covered by the federal government through the Help America Vote Act of 2002, intended to fix voting irregularities claimed during the presidential election in November 2000.

Commissioners are considering whether to purchase 113 eScan machines, which could allay some senior citizens' dislike of eSlate machines, address long waits at the largest of the county's 103 precincts and offer a verified paper trail.
A special meeting tentatively is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday. An eScan machine is on display at the Fayette County Public Safety building at 22 E. Main St., Uniontown.

With the eScan, voters mark their choices on a paper ballot and feed the ballot into the machine, which stores the results on a flash card.

If a person under-votes or over-votes, the eScan spits out the ballot, giving the voter an opportunity to make changes to the ballot or to resubmit it.

Once accepted, the ballot goes into a locked compartment in the machine. If a power outage should occur, poll workers manually could insert the ballot.

"There will be no doubt as to how a voter wanted to vote because it will always be there," said Adrian Gonzales, an account executive for Hart InterCivic.


http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_550329.html

Fayette's Zapotosky: Paper Ballots & Scanners Best Interest for Democracy

Paper voting ballots possibility in Fayette
By Amy Zalar, Herald-Standard
02/01/2008
Updated 02/01/2008 12:34:59 AM EST
The Fayette County commissioners are considering offering paper ballots at the polls as a way to deal with voter dissatisfaction of the electronic voting machines purchased in 2006 following a federal mandate that made the county's lever machines illegal.


The commissioners will hold a special meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday to discuss purchasing electronic scanners to use in conjunction with paper ballots at each of the county's 103 precincts for the April 22 primary.

During a demonstration of the scanners Thursday afternoon in the public safety building, Adrian Gonzales of Hart Intercivic discussed details of the eScan machine. He said the important thing is a tangible piece of paper that can be used to verify votes if needed.

Gonzales explained that voters choosing to use the machines would get a paper ballot, take it into a privacy booth and vote and then place it in the eScan machine for calculation...

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