>From Ellen Theisen: Government-issued photo ID requirements for voters have passed in some states and are being debated in several others (SC, TX, and WI in today's articles). The debate centers on ensuring that only eligible voters can vote (pro), vs. concerns about disenfranchising eligible voters (con).
But today's two featured articles, when taken together, suggest that other important questions need to be asked. The first article tells of the breach of the UC Berkeley computers and the possible loss of identity information for 16,000 students and alumni. The second tells of a proposal in the legislature of the Philippines requiring that fingerprint data (AFIX biometric information) for every voter be stored in the voter registration database. Is it far-fetched to speculate whether voter biometrics is the logical outcome of a drive for "strict voter ID"? Other unasked questions in the U.S. Voter-ID debate are: What kind of identity information is or will be collected and stored as part of the election process? For how long? Under what safe guards? With the move to create centralized, computerized government-issued identities for people and require that identity be presented in order to vote, access to that identity and impersonating that identity are only going to grow problematic over time. FEatured from CA: UC hacking leaves thousands at risk of ID theft http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/08/BAPA17H89B.DTL FEatured from Philippines: Gordon seeks approval of bill amending voter's registration act http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2009/0508_gordon3.asp (Proposed bill would require AFIS “biometric information” – fingerprints -- for all registered voters ) NAtional: Sunshine Act Notice: EAC May 19, 2009 meeting http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2009/05/09/4171688.htm (The topic: Military and Overseas Citizens: Counting Their Votes) NAtional: More Acorn Voter Fraud Comes to Light http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124182750646102435.html CA: Voting on e-voting no solution http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/05/10/opinion/editorialscal/z7baeaaa6dc686e3f882575b00018079c.txt CO: Audit of Aspen’s election shows no holes in system http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20090508/NEWS/905089992/1077&ParentProfile=1058 (Explains the process of auditing the election, which was administered by TrueBallot, Inc.) CT: Let citizens decide issue of early voting; Changing rules won’t necessarily get more to polls http://www.norwichbulletin.com/opinions/columnists/x362990432/Ray-Hackett-Let-citizens-decide-issue-of-early-voting MN: Minnesota Senate relaxes early voting rules in wake of Coleman-Franken fight http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_12330735?nclick_check=1&forced=true NC: In our opinion: IRV too risky http://www.carynews.com/opinion/story/12323.html NJ: Electronic voting machines could skew council results http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1242023154138820.xml&coll=3 NY: Voting machines won't be certified http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20090510/NEWS03/305109936/-1/NEWS SC: Hopes fade for reform bill http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/05/11/met_523534.shtml TX: Voter ID bill clears House committee http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/051109dntexvoterid.16c57005.html WA: King County seeks emergency approval of new voting tools http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009204527_elections11m.html WI: Voter ID legislation revived http://www.wrn.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=2199E3A5-5056-B82A-37914A11619AD9AF Philippines: Comelec won’t give up on poll automation plan http://bayan-natin.blogspot.com/2009/05/comelec-wont-give-up-on-poll-automation.html Published by VotersUnite.Org Ellen Theisen ([email protected]), Director and Managing Editor Dave Klein ([email protected]), Editor John Washburn ([email protected]), Editor Daily Voting News was founded on February 6, 2004 by John Gideon (1947-2009). To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to [email protected]. To donate, click here: http://www.votersunite.org/donate.asp. "To encourage citizen ownership of transparent, participatory democracy." The Creekside Declaration March 22, 2008 **Articles and commentary included in “Daily Voting News” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Daily Voting News, VotersUnite.Org, or its allied organizations. Articles are selected for inclusion to inform subscribers' ability to draw their own conclusions based on noteworthy and credible news, research, legislation, and debate bearing on the integrity of elections. ** ******************************************************************* If you receive Daily Voting News directly from VotersUnite! and wish to unsubscribe, please send an email to [email protected] requesting that you be removed from circulation. 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