Wednesday, April 21, 2010

AZ may repeal clean elections. TX AG probe Dallas mail ballot fraud. Citizens United bill gains support

AZ House panel OKs Clean Elections repeal...Students registered to vote in Alamance County run into trouble at polling stations...TN Rep Odom calls for investigation into Benton Co voter purge: “I know firsthand that some of these voters have been registered to vote in Tennessee for more than 48 years,” wrote Rep. Odom... TX Atty Gen to investigate Dallas Co absentee ballot fraud ..In Defense of Caroline Hunter...Fed campaign finance bill to address Citizens United gains bi partisan support...the Disappearing Poll Workers...Internet voting on the rise in Canadian municipalities....

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

AZ: House panel OKs Clean Elections repeal
http://azcapitoltimes.com/blog/2010/04/21/house-panel-oks-clean-elections-repeal/
The effort to end public campaign financing is backed primarily by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Government for Arizona’s Second Century, the lobbying arm of the O’Connor House Project, a group spearheaded by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

CO: City proposes task force for November IRV vote
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/140257

CO: How will Aspen be asked to vote on how Aspen votes?
Commission charged with creating scenarios to retain, revise or replace IRV
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100421/
NEWS/100429970/1077&ParentProfile=1058
http://bit.ly/9zD949

CO: For a return to traditional elections (LTE)
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/140250
...Ballots are found in the trash in post offices. Can we really expect that signatures can be absolutely verified?

GUAM: Law limits use of electronic voting terminals
http://www.kuam.com/Global/story.asp?S=12345476

IA: Superviser candidate challenges uncounted absentee ballot
http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=280139
Julia Clark defeated Dwight Nelson by one vote, 54-53. A recount request by Nelson found an absentee ballot cast for Nelson was not allowed because the ballot was not initialed by the Platteville City Clerk's office.

IN: Absentee ballots probed *
http://www.therepublic.com/view/local_story/
Absentee_ballots_probed_4_20_2010/
http://bit.ly/9tVh7v VERNON ...On April 12, Republican sheriff’s candidate and former sheriff Earl Taggart reportedly dropped off two absentee ballots at Jennings County Election Office.

The envelopes Taggart delivered had been sealed and re-opened, and the ballots inside were voided, according to Jennings County Clerk Ron Bloemer.

MA: Town opts to have four polling places
http://www.salemnews.com/local/x993507234/Town-opts-to-have-four-polling-places
Selectmen have been grappling with a single polling location after the town consolidated its eight precincts' polls to Danvers High starting with the February 2008 Super Tuesday presidential primary.

NC: Students registered to vote in Alamance County run into trouble at polling stations
http://www.elon.edu/pendulum/Story.aspx?id=3733
...students who had moved housing assignments on campus were no longer able to vote. Early voting, which ends May 1, is the last chance for students to re-register who want to vote in the primary.
...
According to Harwell, many of the students who changed their registration to vote in Alamance County do not realize they have to update it every year.

NV: Independent American Party Senate Nominee Will Appeal Tea Party Ballot Access Ruling http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/04/21/independent-american-party-senate-nominee-will-appeal-tea-party-ballot-access-ruling/

PA: Philadelphia poll workers getting IOU's
http://whyy.org/cms/news/uncategorized/2010/04/20/philadelphia-poll-workers-getting-ious/36276 The agency that runs elections in Philadelphia is having a hard time paying poll workers

TN: Tennessee: Odom calls for TBI to probe voter ‘purge’
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/apr/20/tennessee-odom-calls-tbi-probe-voter-purge/?breakingnews ...Rep. Odom said he has been told 70,000 Memphis voters and 50,000 Nashville voters have been purged.

TX: Dallas County Judge: Texas Attorney General is investigating local voter fraud allegations (mail in ballots)
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/04/dallas-county-judge-texas-atto.html

WI: Milwaukee couple faces election fraud charges (video available)
http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-100420-election-fraud,0,1943056.story
Gunka's attorney James Blask says, "It's strictly a procedural error...the Gunka's should not be held responsible in a felony case for something as trivial as this.

WV: Jefferson County commissioner indicted on charges of trying to vote twice
http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=243891&format=html
Surkamp said, “I had forgotten that I had voted in the referendum in the Jefferson County Courthouse three weeks before, during the early-voting period.”

Internet Voting Watch

Canada: Internet voting dead (St. Thomas)
http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2542430

Canada: Electronic voting on the rise
Renfrew undecided whether to go electronic
http://www.yourottawaregion.com/news/article/803504--electronic-voting-on-the-rise
...Stephen Beamish of Dartmouth-based Intelivote addresses Renfrew council. The business will provide electronic voting systems for about 30 Ontario municipalities in the October 2010 election

National

Second GOPer to Join Castle on Citizens United Bill
http://www.rollcall.com/news/45410-1.html ..."stand-by-your-ad disclaimers for executives and new restrictions on ad buys by foreign companies, government contractors and Toxic Asset Relief Program recipients."...

Rose Institute Releases: "Redistricting in America: A State-by-State Guide": You can find it here http://bit.ly/aPaRiN

US Federal Court: Decision Support, LLC et al v. Election Systems & Software, Inc. et al http://www.rfcexpress.com/lawsuit.asp?id=57694 (patent infringement)
...4/21/2010 1 COMPLAINT against Datacard Corporation, Election Systems & Software, Inc. with Jury Demand...filed by Decision Support, LLC, David Watson. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1)(Allan, Albert) (Entered: 04/21/2010)

Solving the Epidemic of Disappearing Poll Workers – Part 2: A Poll Worker Draft?
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/04/21/solving-the-epidemic-of-disappearing-poll-workers-%e2%80%93-part-2-a-poll-worker-draft/
Currently, there are only two counties in the entire country that uses a drafting system for poll workers. Nebraska law allows for a draft and both Douglas and Sarpy County have taken part.

On Voting Integrity, Johnny We Hardly Agree With Ye (Opinion)
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3062
For the second time in as many weeks, I find myself disagreeing on an election integrity issue with John Nichols of The Nation.

Elections Exclusively by Mail: A Terrible Idea Whose Time Should Never Come
Hans von Spakovsky (Opinion)
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/04/Vote-by-Mail-Elections-Exclusively-by-Mail-are-a-Terrible-Idea

Letter in Defense of Caroline Hunter
Early in April I linked to a Raw Story series critical of FEC commissioner Caroline Hunter. http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015769.html
"You should know that the article, not Commissioner Hunter's statements, is breathtakingly misleading in its failure to disclose a number of basic facts..."
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/burchfield-ltr.pdf

How to Improve Voting in the U.S.? Through Tweets, Of Course
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/04/20/how-to-improve-voting-in-the-us-through-tweets-of-course/ A fast-moving service such as Twitter can be the best way to get information about what is going on during elections, because it’s easier to access and doesn’t get tied up the way phone lines can, said California Secretary of State Debra Bowen

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
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