Hawaii has 3 election bills, Coalition urges WA lawmakers to reject online voting, IL law violating voter secrecy condemned

In Washburn’s World, Election Records Would Be Public...In Palm Beach FL, cartridges for some machines used in Fl District 19 GOP primary special election could not be read and the paper ballots were later counted at a tabulating center....In an Illinois Primary Race, Victory Is Self-Declared...

Hawaii to consider 3 election bills - vote by mail as the only election system, voting systems integrity and security, and election audits....Voting rights groups urge Washington State lawmakers to reject online voting bills HB 1624 and SB 5522.

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


AR: Which type voting machine do you prefer and feel secure casting your vote on?
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TM5SJJQ (poll)

FL: Last Case on Timing of Florida Presidential Primary Dismissed for Mootness
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/04/last-case-on-timing-of-florida-presidential-primary-dismissed-for-mootness/

FL: Morning of rechecking ballot-count proves Lynch the GOP winner in District 19 *
(correction after some ballots double counted)
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/morning-of-rechecking-ballot-count-proves-lynch-the-211948.html
WEST PALM BEACH — After a counting glitch led to a long night and morning of shifting results, Ed Lynch emerged Wednesday as the winner of Tuesday's special congressional District 19 GOP primary by 0.56 percent — just enough to avoid a recount against runner-up Joe Budd.
...
Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher said nine votes for Budd and four votes for Price were properly counted on the electronic cartridges that are retrieved from ballot scanning machines at each precinct. But other cartridges in other scanners at those precincts could not be read, Bucher said. In response, elections staffers took all the ballots from those precincts — including the few ballots that had already been properly counted — and scanned them at the elections tabulating center in Riviera Beach.

After posting the incorrect totals on the elections Web site late Tuesday, Bucher said elections officials realized the mistake when they compared vote totals to the number of "ballot accounting forms" filled out at each precinct to keep track of how many ballots are voted and how many are left over.

HI: Three election-related bills for your review
http://disappearednews.com/2010/02/three-election-related-bills-for-your.html

IL: Daily Herald Condemns Illinois Law That Compromises Secret Ballot
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/04/daily-herald-condemns-illinois-law-that-compromises-secret-ballot/

IL: Local legislators hope to repeal undervote law
http://www3.whig.com/whig/blogs/citybeat/?p=290

IL: Grace: A few notes on election night *
http://www.kcchronicle.com/blogs/entries/2010/02/03/42268637/index.xml
The main issue was the Aurora Election Commission, which was showing different results throughout the night on its Web site and the Kane County Web site's link to its results.

IL: Few voters, few problems * (attempts to mark ballots, also electioneering)
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/election/2026423,020310elexvoterfeat.article
Election judge in Oak Lawn booted for causing disruption
...In Oak Lawn, Cook County sheriff's police booted Michael W. Tortorello, 51, from his election judge role mid-afternoon Tuesday after Tortorello shouted racial slurs against President Barack Obama, railed against "Crook County" government and attempted to mark up several ballots.

IL: In an Illinois Primary Race, Victory Is Self-Declared
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/us/04governor.html

IL: Recounts not automatic, must wait a month
http://www.herald-review.com/news/local/article_a03af164-67ed-56f4-a869-e94dbcdde15f.html
Feb 4. DECATUR - With the results of both primary elections for governor still in question, county political leaders spoke about the possible impacts in the near term.
...
The results won't be official until the Illinois State Board of Elections declares them so March 5, said Rupert Borgsmiller, election board assistant executive director. No request for recounts can be made until then

MA: City Clerk: Voting problem exaggerated * (ballots not in locked box?)
http://www.wickedlocal.com/beverly/news/x1090825544/City-Clerk-Voting-problem-exaggerated
People did not receive “pre-marked” ballots, McDonald said. An election worker grabbed what he thought were blank ballots but what he took, instead, were ballots that had already been cast, McDonald said.

NJ: County board of elections investigating Rutherford election (Bergen County)
http://bit.ly/8YYFJ2

NY: City's new tech guru Carole Wallace Post shrugs off Florida voting hiccup
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/02/04/2010-02-04_citys_new_tech_guru_shrugs_off_fla_hiccup.html
February 4th 2010..."Commissioner Post last voted in Florida, via absentee ballot, in 2004," said department spokesman Nicholas Sbordone. "This was a mistake that Commissioner Post corrected in 2005, and she has been registered to vote in New York City since."

OK: University of Oklahoma Student Newspaper Editorializes for Ballot Access Reform
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/04/university-of-oklahoma-student-newspaper-editorializes-for-ballot-access-reform/

SD: Election efficiency to get closer look (may give up hand counting the votes)
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_c08185d4-1149-11df-a908-001cc4c002e0.html
Lawrence County Journal February 3, 2010 STURGIS -- Changes could be made to how Sturgis handles its elections in the future, following Tuesday's annexation vote.

In all, 1,738 ballots in the Feb. 2 election were counted by hand. Six women in teams of three did all of the counting. Seven provisional ballots remained to be counted Wednesday.

WA: Coalition Supports Improvements for Troop Voting; Rejects Risky Internet Ballot Proposals
http://www.verifiedvotingfoundation.org/article.php?id=6750
OLYMPIA: Voting rights groups Voter Action, Common Cause, FUSE Washington and Verified Voting joined security experts today to support Washington’s desire to improve voting opportunities for military and overseas voters. However, all warned that the proposed voting technologies for returning voted ballots via online electronic transmission are fundamentally insecure and do not fully respect the rights of voters deployed overseas to a private and secure ballot.

WA: In Washburn’s World: Election Records Would Be Public
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2859

Citizens United

Linda Greenhouse on CU: The Court's "Come Out of the Closet" and Had Its "First Taste of Wine"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015214.html

What Have U.S. Senators Said About CU?
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015221.html

National

U.S. Election Assistance Commission
http://www.eac.gov/blog-postings/300-000-in-federal-grants-are-available-to-fund-student-mock-elections
$300,000 in federal grants are available to fund student mock elections

AEI Brookings Election Reform Project newsletter
http://bit.ly/aaVGlR
Partnering with Motor Vehicle Offices and Public Assistance Agencies
The Future of Election Reform: From Rules to Institutions
Ensuring that Provisional Ballots are Counted

He's BAAAACK!
Mark "Thor" Hearne "voter fraud warrier"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015223.html

International

India: Electronic Voting Machines: transparency and tamperability — International Conference Feb. 13, 2010
http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/electronic-voting-machines-transparency-and-tamperability/

Philippines: The Elections Under Seige? Is Digital Dagdag Bawas Possible?
http://atmidfield.com/2010/02/03/the-elections-under-seige-is-digital-dagdag-bawas-possible/

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
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