Vote fixing charges in Clay Co. KY, Washington ends ban on felon voting

Federal Prosecutors: Kentucky Officials Manipulated Clay County Elections for Decades ...Barrow seeks investigation into handling of Detroit election...Nassau (NY) switches vote-machine contractors... 9th Circuit throws out Wash. ban on felon voting...New Year's resolution: Register to vote (or update your registration).... Brad Friedman of Bradblog visits former Diebold now ES&S HQ in Texas and finds that "the new boss...same as the old boss"...

All this and more in today's voting news below....

CA: EDA Study Shows 2008 CA Prop 8 Results Appear to Have Been Corrupted
http://electiondefensealliance.org/CA-Prop-8-Corrupted

CA: Dear Council: 64,000 voters are the boss of you. You have to do IRV.
http://www.abetteroakland.com/dear-council-64000-voters-are-the-boss-of-you-you-have-to-do-irv/2010-01-05
...
You don’t get a pass on ignoring voter mandates just because you don’t like them, and you don’t get a pass because you have a budget crisis either, and Oakland residents should contact their Councilmembers today, or come to the meeting tonight

FL: Palm Beach County's new election costs rile city leaders
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-bucher-cities-election-cost-20100104,0,439206.story
Jan 05, 2010 - An agreement between Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher and most of Palm Beach County's 38 communities has some local leaders watching their wallets as the March 9 municipal elections approach. Some city leaders question whether the new arrangement is fair for their residents. Jason Schultz, Sun-Sentinel

GA: Cole pulls name from secretary of state appointment
http://www.macon.com/local/story/973587.html
Jan 05, 2010 - State Rep. Jim Cole of Forsyth won’t be Georgia’s next secretary of state after all.

HI: May 1 is earliest Hawaii could hold special election for Abercrombie's seat
http://bit.ly/8WH22m
...Scott Nago, the interim chief elections officer, told the state Senate Ways and Means Committee that his preference would be to hold an all mail special election with some walk-in voting sites.

He estimated that the cost of an all mail special election would be $925,000. A traditional special election with polling places would cost about $1.2 million.

IL: Clerks concerned about voting law
http://www.reviewatlas.com/news/x1437802188/Clerks-concerned-about-voting-law
MONMOUTH — Many Illinois voters, including those in Warren County, will be asked to be a little more patient when heading to the polls this year.

That's because — thanks to a provision passed by the Illinois State Legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2007 — if a voter fails to vote for any particular office, many voting machines will beep loudly and spit the ballot back out. An election judge will then have to assist the voter, either correcting the undervote or overriding the system and casting the vote with the omission

KY: Federal Prosecutors: Kentucky Officials Manipulated Clay County Elections for Decades
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7627

MI: BARROW SEEKS INVESTIGATION INTO HANDLING OF ELECTION
http://metrotimes.com/blog/newsblawg.asp?perm=952
Tom Barrow, who lost to Dave Bing in the Nov. 3 Detroit mayoral election, has sent letters to a variety of public officials — ranging from Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice — seeking a criminal investigation into the way the contest was handled.

In his letter, Barrow alleges that there is probable cause to believe that “vote tampering, ballot box stuffing and electronic vote manipulation” occurred.

MO: Early Voting Petitions Approved for Signatures
http://ozarksfirst.com/content/fulltext/?cid=222001

NC: 'Three times the work' nets write-in victory for Stokes in Stallings
http://bit.ly/4ZGhsU
...As Union County’s only write-in candidate to win a seat this election, Harry Stokes will represent Stallings District 1 after defeating incumbent Al Graham.

As of Thursday, 37 write-in candidates across the state won political offices last week. A few towns had up to four candidates win by write-in.

NY: Nassau switches vote-machine contractors (registration required)
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/spin-cycle-1.812042/nassau-switches-vote-machine-contractors-1.1683978
Nassau has switched voting-machine suppliers after a series of difficulties. The county is contracting with Election Systems and Software to provide about 1,300 optical scanners and 450 handicapped-accessible ballot-marking devicese, according to Bill Biamonte, the Democratic elections commissioner

NY: Voting To Become More Like High School Exams
http://gothamist.com/2010/01/04/voting_to_become_like_high_school_e.php
After fifty years of service, the city's lever voting machines will be replaced with "SAT-style ovals," ...

NY: Mayor Bloomberg Will Never Sashay Out of a Voting Booth Again
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/01/ttk.html
1/4/10 New York City is finally embracing modern voting technology, and all it took was getting sued by the Justice Department. In time for the September primaries, those lever-operated voting booths that we've been using for a hundred years will be replaced by optical scan machines.

SC: S.C. high court to hear election case
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jan/04/sc-high-court-to-hear-election-case/
Decision will clarify rights of multiple-party candidates
January 4, 2010 COLUMBIA -- The future of candidates in South Carolina running under more than one party label will be decided after state Supreme Court justices rule on a case before them this week.

WA: 9th Circuit throws out Wash. ban on felon voting
http://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2010/01/9th-circuit-throws-out-wa-ban-on-felon-voting/
January 5th, 2010 The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out Washington’s longstanding ban on voting by felons.


National

Recent Felon Disenfranchisement Cases
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/news/articles.php?ID=7025

New Year's resolution: Register to vote
http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2010/01/new-years-resolution-register-to-vote.html

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
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