Understanding Citizens United, Murphy's Law on Voter Interface, Automatic Voter Registration

The S.D. Legislature eyes pilot of ‘precinct-less’ voting for school board elections...
A Technologist in Philippines considers the impact of Murphy’s Law on the Voter Interface of the Automated Election System and how to avoid problems...The Champagn County Clerk in Illinois writes about automatic voter registration and what goes on behind the scenes... "Understanding Citizens United: An Interview with Richard L. Hasen" ...

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

CA: Application deadline for Citizens Redistricting Commission is Feb. 12
http://calvoter.org/news/blog/2010_02_01_blogarchive.html#3828639681469088340

CA: County Registrar cautions St. Helena voters about ballot
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/news/local/article_1535785a-1079-11df-b0ca-001cc4c03286.html

CA: Suit challenges San Francisco election practice
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/04/BAE61BSTH8.DTL#ixzz0eg9uwjWe

CA: Group sues to stop instant runoff elections in SF
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Group-sues-to-stop-instant-runoff-elections-in-SF-83607307.html#ixzz0edR8t4WT
The lawsuit claims that the way the city implements the system is unconstitutional because some voters are denied the ability to have their vote counted in later rounds of balloting.

CO: News: Hearing date set for Aspen's '09 election (podcast)
http://www.kdnk.org/article.cfm?mode=detail&id=1264781474327
The City of Aspen's May 2009 election has spiraled into a lawsuit that looks like it could finally make its way to court.

CT: First Steps Taken to Place Connecticut Tea Party on the Ballot
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/02/05/first-steps-taken-to-place-connecticut-tea-party-on-the-ballot/

GA: Secretary of State Kemp Announces Support of Legislation to Increase Ballot Access for Military and Overseas Voters
http://www.theweekly.com/news/2010/February/04/Overseas_Voters.html
...allowing military and overseas voters to receive a blank absentee ballot electronically

HI: Hawaii House Panel Passes Bill To Move Up Election
http://bit.ly/9pFLi1

IL: Automated is not Automatic
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/02/05/automated-is-not-automatic/
Champaign County Clerk. With the Illinois primary election now over (more or less) I will have a little more time to catch up with the various attempts out there to radically change our voter registration system. A recent one is from Demos

IL: Election summary: Undervoting law underloved
http://www.pekintimes.com/news/x1878079590/Election-summary-Undervoting-law-underloved

IL: 'Ghost' voting alleged in Sammons Points *
http://www.daily-journal.com/archives/dj/display.php?id=451417
"There are four names on the voter list that don't live where they say they do," said Sammons Point resident Joe Culkin. "Nobody has seen them. We don't know them, all four voted absentee from a little house about the size of a two-car garage."

LA: New Orleans loses 76 voting precincts in post-Katrina tally
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/02/new_orleans_voters.html
February 04, 2010. Voters with questions about where they should cast their ballots Saturday can go to the secretary of state's Web site, www.sos.louisiana.gov, and click on GeauxVote

NC: Ruling may help politics as usual
http://bit.ly/cRKNfE
The ruling overturns North Carolina's law banning direct contributions.
This means that in the fall elections, a corporation that wants to influence an election can write a check for $1 million, rather than having to raise it in small increments from its executives.

SD: S.D. Legislature eyes ‘precinct-less’ voting
http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/40593/group/News/
PIERRE...The plan would let voters cast ballots at any of the school district’s polling places that they find convenient on election day.

Citizens United

FEC Statement on the Supreme Court’s Decision in Citizens United v. FEC
http://www.fec.gov/press/press2010/20100205CitizensUnited.shtml
Washington – The Federal Election Commission today announced that, due to the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC, it will no longer enforce statutory and regulatory provisions prohibiting corporations and labor unions from making either independent expenditures or electioneering communications. The Commission also listed several actions it is taking to fully implement the Citizens United decision.

Understanding Citizens United: An Interview with Richard L. Hasen
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015228.html

International

Philippines: Murphy’s Law and the Voter Interface of the Automated Election System
http://bit.ly/bUaFJA
In my experience with introducing and institutionalizing new technology at the National Statistics Office (NSO), I always had to contend with Murphy’s Law.
A system has to be 100 percent accurate for it to work; less than 100 percent, what you have are highly expensive and decorative electronic equipment that serve no one and occupy office space.


Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
"The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation. You can help support the Voting News by sending a check to Verified Voting Foundation, PO Box 4104, Carlsbad, CA 92018. Be sure to note "for Voting News" in the memo line of your check! Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law."
Donate online at this link: http://tinyurl.com/donate-vn

Disclaimer: Articles and commentary included in "Voting News" do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of Voting News,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.