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Representative Rush Holt, and Johns Hopkins University computer science professor Aviel Rubin said that a verifiable paper trail should be required of touchscreen voting systems to ensure accurate tallying of votes. Holt and Rubin spoke at a news conference following the first public hearing of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on potential problems of electronic voting. Holt's bill, which has 140 bipartisan co-sponsors, would amend the 2002 Help Americans Vote Act by requiring all voting machines to produce a voter-verified paper trail by November 2004 elections.

The article reports that Former Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz has filed the necessary paperwork to compete in the U.S. Democratic primary election, thereby officially challenging U.S. Democratic Representative Chris Murphy for the chance to win a U.S. Senate seat.

The article reports that the U.S. Senate Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday to reimburse States that print paper ballots and offer them to voters in the November elections. However the bill is unlikely to be passed by both the chambers before the November election. The House Administration Committee Chairman Vernon Ehlers noted that the suggestions to revert to rely on paper can fail to deliver accurate results and is also susceptible to manipulation.

The article informs that former U.S. Representative William Luther, is being questioned for accepting $ 12,500 in donations and spending more than $ 60,000 on campaign expenses in the two years after he was ousted from office. The state GOP said it plans to challenge Luther's spending since 2002, but he said the expenses were justifiable. Luther, who served for four terms, filed federal candidacy papers in January 2003, two months after he lost to current officeholder Republican Representative John Kline. Republicans said Luther's possible intentions to run are not enough to justify his fundraising and spending.

Reports on the defeat of Republican Felix Grucci in New York district elections against Democrat Tim Bishop. Comparison of the votes earned by Bishop with those of Grucci; Developments in the counting of paper ballots from October 8, 2002 to October 10, 2002; Refusal of Grucci to concede despite negotiations between lawyers of both sides until October 14, 2002; Situation of counting results in Colorado.

The article reports on the acknowledgement of Paul Carmouche, the senatorial candidate of the Democratic Party for the 4th district race in Louisiana, on his defeat against Republican Party nominee John Fleming in the December 6, 2008 election. Carmouche says it appears that his campaign has fallen slightly short and that he does not plan to seek for a recount of any of the paper ballots. In addition, Carmouche extends his congratulations to Fleming.

The article reports that Virginia Democratic Governor Timothy M. Kaine has set December 11, 2007 as the date for the special election to fill the vacancy left by the death of GOP Representative Jo Ann Davis. Kaine has said that voters will cast paper ballots because the unavailability of voting machines after the November 2006 general election.

The article reports that U.S. House Administration ranking member Vernon Ehlers has stressed the need for properly designed voting machines, training and redundancy to ensure public confidence in elections. Ehlers said that reform should focus around ensuring recounts which can be done accurately, whether through backup computer systems, scanned paper ballots, or printing out copies of electronic votes.

The article reports that U.S. Senate Rules Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein has urged the U.S. Government Accountability Office to launch a probe into the electronic voting machines used in the disputed election in Florida's 13th District. She has asked the Comptroller General David Walker, to undertake an investigation of certain models of Direct Recording Electronic voting systems which could not produce voter-verified paper ballots

The article reports on US politics. Prosecutors have agreed to drop charges against Diversified Collection Services, the company accused in a campaign finance probe that has implicated associates of House Majority Leader DeLay, in exchange for cooperating with the investigation, the Associated Press reported. The deal was approved Thursday by a state judge, and court papers show the company has agreed to overhaul its internal policies to prevent future breaches. The California-based firm provides repayment services for state and federal debt and was accused of giving$ 50,000 in 2002 to Texans for a Republican Majority, a PAC associated with DeLay.

Former Governor Jerry Brown, who entered elective politics more than a third of a century ago as California secretary of state, has filed paperwork indicating he intends to run for state attorney general in 2006. Brown filed papers last week that are a prerequisite to campaign fundraising. Brown was elected mayor of Oakland several years ago, a position he still holds.