Ranked choice voting, otherwise known as instant run-off, has been used in San Francisco elections since 2004. This past November's elections marked the first time it was used in Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro. California Watch analyzed the voting data from this district, which includes both Bayview/Hunters Point Housing Projects and middle class homes in Potrero, and came to the conclusion that RCV causes voter fatigue and confusion in especially low-income neighborhoods. Read More
IN: Bill would allow vote centers in all Indiana counties » Evansville Courier & Press
Every Indiana county could ditch neighborhood polling precincts in favor of centralized "vote centers" under legislation the Senate Elections Committee endorsed Monday. If Senate Bill 32 becomes law, it would extend the use of centralized polling places in Tippecanoe, Wayne and Cass counties, which have piloted the use of vote centers since 2007, while giving the state's other 89 counties the same option. Read More
MO: Missouri bill would tighten threshold for election recounts - Columbia Missourian
A Missouri lawmaker has proposed legislation requiring that elections be closer to tied before the loser can request a recount. Currently candidates for public office in the state can request a recount if they lose by less than 1 percent of the total vote. The proposed legislation would lower that to one-half of 1 percent. Sponsoring Rep. Tony Dugger said Tuesday that recounts generally have little effect on election outcomes, and he is concerned about how much they cost local officials. Dugger, the House Elections Committee chairman and a former county clerk, said that local election authorities suggested the legislation. "There's no change normally after you have a recount, and so, it's all associated with the cost of doing the recount," said Dugger, R-Hartville. It was unclear how much money could be saved by lowering the threshold for requesting recounts. Read More
NJ: New Jersey drops required poll-worker training for mechanics following Atlantic County complaint - pressofAtlanticCity.com: Atlantic County News
NM: Legal Issue May Alter Absentee Voting - ABQJOURNAL NEWS/METRO:
Thousands of voters will now have to pick up the phone or turn on their computer to request an absentee-ballot application. Citing legal concerns, the Bernalillo County clerk and some other county clerks around the state will no longer send the applications out automatically before every election. About 6,000 voters in Bernalillo County were on the list to receive the applications automatically, County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver said. Once a person signed up, they automatically received an application before every election, without having to sign up or request a new one each time. The practice has been in place for at least 10 years, but nothing in state election laws specifically allows it, officials said. "We consulted with our county attorney and were advised that it'd probably be a good idea not to continue to do this," Oliver said Monday in an interview. Read More
NM: Locals react to state elections director appointment - Carlsbad Current-Argus
Eddy County Clerk Darlene Rosprim said she believes Secretary of State Dianna Duran and her newly appointed bureau of elections director Bobbie Shearer will make a great team and serve voters well. "I am sure they will make themselves available to county clerks and work with us. I expect great things from this new administration," Rosprim said. "Both the Secretary of State and the bureau of elections director has a good understanding of the responsibilities of the clerk's office and the election codes." Read More
NY: Letter from SD7 Winner Jack Martins: Face it; I won an imperfect yet fair election - Times Union
Back in November, Democrat election lawyer Thomas Garry said "You don't just do a hand-count because you want to do it perfect. You're not entitled to a perfect election. You're entitled to a fair election." His quote illustrates the foolishness of the Dec. 29 editorial, "Time to fix this election law," calling into question the results of the 7th Senate District race on Long Island. As the winner of that race, which took nearly eight weeks of post-Election Day counting to complete, I couldn't disagree more. Read More
OH: New secretary of state: Don't count provisional ballots in contested vote | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com
On his first day on the job, Republican Ohio Secretary of State John Husted ordered the Hamilton County Board of Elections to certify the race for juvenile court judge - without counting the 849 ballots that were cast in the right place but the wrong precinct and have been in question since the November election. That supersedes former Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's directive saying that 137 of the 849 ballots must be counted. Bruner, a Democrat, issued that order Friday, her last day on the job. The Hamilton County Board of Elections "must determine now, as it did on Nov. 16, 2010 ... that the (849) ballots cast in the wrong precinct are, according to Ohio statutes, invalid and shall not be counted," Husted wrote. "The Hamilton County Board of Elections is further directed to certify the results of the election and take all additional steps necessary under the law to bring this matter to finality." Read More
TX: Longtime GOP election judge complains to Collin County commissioners about November voting snafus | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News
A longtime Republican election judge complained to the Collin County commissioners court today about long voting delays during the November general election. "There are some issues I think the court needs to address," said Chris Freeman, who worked at Valley Creek Elementary School in McKinney. "We had a shortage of equipment. We had software problems." Read More
WA: Top 2 primary ruled OK by federal judge
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour has dismissed challenges by Democrats and Republicans over Washington's "top 2" primary system. Secretary of State Sam Reed said the decision, coming just before a trial over the parties' lawsuit was to begin, ends 10 years of litigation over the issue. "I am absolutely delighted with this great and sweeping victory for the voters of Washington state," Reed said in a statement. "It honors our wonderful political heritage of allowing us to vote for our favorite candidate for each office without regard to party preference." Read More
National
Phillip Braithwaite Named President of Hart InterCivic, Inc. | Business Wire
Hart InterCivic announced today that Phillip Braithwaite has been named president of Hart InterCivic, effective January 1, 2011. Prior to his appointment, Phillip served as senior vice president and general manager for Hart InterCivic, managing daily operations and successfully leading the company to record profitability. Since joining Hart in 2001, Phillip has held a variety of executive roles, including sales and marketing, strategic planning, and general management. He has been a driving force behind the company's product portfolio, strong customer acquisition, passionate customer satisfaction, and profitable growth that has transformed Hart into an established market leader. Phillip’s extensive experience in state and local technology has been invaluable to his contributions at Hart. Read More
International
Denmark: Voters to go digital - A third of councils already planning to use electronic ballot
Local authorities have been given the go-ahead to use digital electoral registers in a general election, and so far 29 of the country’s 98 local councils have decided to make use of digital aids for the forthcoming general election. “We’re seeing a great interest in digital electoral registers,” Karen Nielsen, vice president of IT company KMD, told public broadcster DR. “And so we can expect to see a digital general election.” Read More
India: Quraishi hints at changes in EVMs
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi on Tuesday indicated that electronic voting machines (EVMs) may undergo some changes and rectifications very soon. “The current EVMs are doing fine. However, keeping in mind the complaints against the use of these machines, we have formed an expert committee to look into what changes and rectifications can be made in the machines. It (the committee) has already held discussions with various political parties on the issue and has taken their suggestions,” Quraishi said here. Read More
Pakistan: Law on the anvil for transparent elections through CNIC and EVMs
The PPP-led government has decided to table a draft bill in the National Assembly (NA) in its next session to make the computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) mandatory at the time of registration of a voter and casting of vote. After the legislation countrywide revision of electoral rolls would kick off, it is learnt. A senior official at the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs told The News that the bill was ready to be moved in the NA, which could not be tabled in the recently concluded session mainly because of the political uncertainty and tension between the treasury and opposition parties. The official was sure that the proposed bill would be adopted by the parliament unanimously, as already all the stakeholders had been taken on board. Read More
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