Ohio Vote Center Pilots slash polling places. Ireland e-voting mistake still costs

Didn't we learn anything from the Garland Co Arkansas fiasco, where polling placesw were cut from 42 to 2? Ohio didn't: Montgomery, Clinton & Highland counties will drastically cut polling places and use vote centers instead.Montgomery Co. will go from 159 polling places to 4 vote centers. For people who can't easily get off work, or have transportation issues - voting just got harder. If something goes wrong, more voters and votes are impacted all at once. More on India's rebellion against electronic voting...Ireland-No end in sight for €50m e-voting saga..

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

AL: So that all can vote
http://www.dailyhome.com/view/full_story/8723426/article-So-that-all-can-vote?instance=home_lead_story According to Talladega County Probate Judge Billy Atkinson, blind voters in every precinct have the option of using an AutoMARK voting machine, which replaced Braille voting machines about four years ago.
...
“The Braille voting machines weighed around 2,000 pounds each and were difficult to set up,” Atkinson said. “Things moved very slowly, and we had to get AIDB to print..

AL: Cast your vote with a clear conscience
http://blog.al.com/tscarritt/2010/07/cast_your_vote_with_a_clear_co.html
To vote or not to vote: That is the question; Whether 'tis nobler in the runoff to suffer the outrageous choices that other voters might make, or to cross over into the opposing party's primary and help select its nominee

CA: Disputed Riverside Co. ballots counted
http://www.pe.com/politics/gang/stories/PE_News_Local_votecount11.127bfeeef.html

CA: Election probe findings are ‘stunning'
Report: Not enough ballot counters hired; registrar's resignation not sought
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100709/NEWS0301/7090323/
006/NEWS01/Election+probe+findings+are+%E2%80%98
stunning+ http://is.gd/dpHIp
The Riverside County registrar's office hired fewer people to count ballots than in previous elections and had “poor communication” with voters about the results, an internal review of the June 8 election found
...
Dunmore has also been criticized for not notifying the public sooner that 106,000 vote-by-mail and provisional ballots were not included in the election night tally.

The status of those votes — more than 40 percent of the total cast — was not publicized until after 5 p.m. the next day. It had many candidates believing they were victors before the final tally was determined.

CA: Candidates to receive refund from county over sample ballot glitch
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/news/ci_15474426?source=rss
The Mendocino County Elections Office is giving money back to the June Primary election candidates after errors appeared on the sample ballots mailed to voters, according to Registrar of Voters Sue Ranochak.

CA: How a bill becomes a law in California
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/2010/07/11/how-a-bill-becomes-a-law-in-california/
One newspaper’s take on how many bills become laws in California includes significant lobbyist involvement

CT: Bysiewicz: New Report Shows Connecticut Voter Turnout Increase 7th Highest
in the Nation http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/thereddingpilot/news/localnews/64075-bysiewicz-new-report-shows-connecticut-voter-turnout-increase-7th-highest-in-the-nation-in-2008-.html

FL: Emphasis on absentee ballots adds uncertainty
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/11/1725027/emphasis-on-absentee-ballots-adds.html
The unprecedented growth of mail-in voting lends further suspense to a year already testing many of Florida's political traditions.

IL: General Assembly passes legislation to create more cohesive party tickets
http://www.examiner.com/x-51155-Chicago-Government-Examiner~y2010m7d11-General-Assembly-passes-legislation-to-create-more-cohesive-party-tickets
...requires candidates of the same party to be nominated together for governor and lieutenant governor during the primary elections.

MI: Court of Appeals expected to hear Barrow election appeal soon
http://is.gd/dpHJF
The Wayne County Board of Canvassers found last December that 51 percent, or 59,135 ballots in last November’s election were “irregular,” according to Barrow’s motion.

MN: Corporations sue to allow campaign contributions
http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/98080899.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUoaK7D_V_eDc87DUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUs
Not content with running their own ads supporting candidates, businesses want judicial approval to contribute directly to campaigns and political parties.

NY: Brennan Center Sues NY Over Seasoning in Poisonous Brew
http://electiontransparencycoalition.org/2010/07/12/brennan-center-sues-ny-over-seasoning-in-poisonous-brew/

OH: Special election to test centralized voting
Tuesday’s polling could be a precursor to how we vote in the future.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/election/special-election-to-test-centralized-voting-806985.html
Montgomery County will have four voting centers instead of the usual 159.
Voters in Clinton and Highland counties also will use centralized voting.

Remember this?
Polling Place Fiasco in Garland County, AR Patrick Henry Press News
http://patrickhenrypress.info/node/215888

SC: SC Officials Clear Greene in Senate Primary Filing Fee Investigation Without Bank Records Subpoena http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7938
Funds for $10k fee came from military pay, tax refunds, according to state's top law enforcement agency..

TX: Election administration is daunting, never ends (Bexar County)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/election_administrationis_
aunting_never_ends_98139464.html?showFullArticle=y http://is.gd/dpHKM

WV: "SPECIAL ELECTION CLEARED TO FILL BYRD'S SEAT"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016388.html

WV: City applies for vote-by-mail pilot: Mayor Byrne hopes program will increase election turnout http://www.poten.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=10503307
Morgantown wants to be one of five cities in the state where residents can mail in their ballots during municipal elections

Internet Vote Watch

Internet Voting Called Unfair, Not Observable, and Not Transparent
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3348 While states prepare to risk military and overseas votes on Internet, email and FAX, the National Association of Manufacturers calls it unsafe for union elections. Their concern is union members being intimidated in remote, unobserved locations. They are correct.

National

"Citizens United and the Myth of a Conservative Corporate America"
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/016406.html
This is fascinating. I'll be interested to hear what others think of these data and this methodology.

The Supreme Court and Corporate Free Speech
http://www.voteraction.org/news-article/2010/the-supreme-court-and-corporate-free-speech

Halliburton Continues to Flood Lawmakers With Contributions After Oil Spill
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/07/halliburton-continues-to-flood-lawm.html

Upcoming webinars on voter participation
http://nonprofitvote.blogspot.com/2010/07/upcoming-webinars-on-voter.html
Voter Registration for Nonprofits
Date and Time: Thursday July 22 2:00pm - 3:00pm Eastern Time


Call For Submissions: EVT/WOTE 2010 Rump Session
http://www.educatedguesswork.org/2010/07/call_for_submissions_evtwote_2.html

International

India: TRS trick forces EC to use ballot papers in Andhra Pradesh by-polls
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/104882/India/trs-trick-forces-ec-to-use-ballot-papers-in-andhra-pradesh-bypolls.html
The EC has no other option but to set aside the EVMs and switch over to the ballot papers because the TRS fielded more than 64 dummy candidates-more than an EVM can support-in each of the 11 constituencies it is contesting.

India: Ballot papers back for T-byelections
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Ballot-papers-back-for-T-byelections/articleshow/6149764.cms

India: Election Commission forced to use paper ballots in Telangana bypolls: EVMs would be gone soon nationally
http://www.indianevm.com/blogs/?p=313 The TRS shock delivered to the Election Commission is a desperate political action to thwart ECI’s plans to thrust unreliable, tamper prone EVMs over the political parties. Its pep talk that “all is well with the EVMs” has no takers and many insiders in the Nirvachan Sadan and the officialdom in the states also have developed some healthy doubts about EVMs.

Ireland: No end in sight for €50m e-voting saga
http://www.sbpost.ie/news/ireland/no-end-in-sight-for-50m-evoting-saga-50429.html
The cost to the exchequer of storing the controversial e-voting machines will total €3.4 million by the end of this year.

Yet a government taskforce, established a year ago to find away of disposing of the €50million machines which were bought six years ago, is still stumped by how to get rid of them.


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