Daily Voting News For August 1, 2006

"We are headed for a train wreck on Election Day," said Republican Tom Leatherwood, who is seeking re-election as Shelby Co. Tennessee register and is calling for more machines to be stationed countywide. / Today is Kansas' primary election / A state Senate investigative panel in California queried the Asst. Registrar of Voters in Kern Co. as to why precinct workers were told they didn't need to test their machines before election day, and why volunteers weren't trained in the use of paper ballots should their machines fail and why inexperienced workers were allowed inside the elections secure area that night. / The so-called "Battle of Athens" began Aug. 1, 1946, when veterans opened fire on the local jail to stop corrupt local officials from stealing an election in Athens, Tennessee. / "The root cause of our troubled elections is that, unbelievably, the U.S. provides less security, testing, and oversight of our nation's voting equipment and election administration than it does to slot machines and the gaming industry." Steven Hill in his WaPo column....