As she shooed people out of the Saguache County courthouse in the wee hours of election night 2010, Clerk and Recorder Melinda Myers struggled to hold back tears. Unofficial tallies showed Myers losing to Republican challenger Carla Gomez, 1,101 to 1,116. Meanwhile, fellow Democrat Linda Joseph, a county commissioner, was trailing Republican Steven Carlson, 1,092 to 1,119. "I went to bed that night thinking I lost," Myers recalled last week. "I cried and cried." But within two days of the general election, Myers had announced the ballots needed to be "retabulated" — by the office she runs. When the process was complete, Myers won her race, 1,181 to 1,137. Joseph also emerged a winner, besting Carlson 1,160 to 1,151. Read More
Sen. Rory Respcio introduced a bill requiring the GEC to establish and follow written procedures during elections, according to a press release issued today. The bill would require procedures such as written voter instructions and on the correct handling of ballots and instructions on preparing and setting up polling places, according to the release. Updated guidelines for dealing with provisional ballots as well as for ballot reconciliation procedures would also be required. The bill would require the GEC to review their controlling regulations under the Guam Administrative Rules and Regulations (GAR), as well as the laws in the Guam Code Annotated. Read More
KS: Election fraud bill to receive scrutiny | CJOnline.com
Kansas Senate leaders suggested Friday that a requirement for people who register to vote for the first time in the state to prove they're citizens will receive close scrutiny as the chamber considers Secretary of State Kris Kobach's election fraud legislation. A bill containing Kobach's proposed Secure and Fair Elections Act won House approval on an 83-36 vote Friday, sending it to the Senate. The measure also would require voters to show photo identification at the polls, increase penalties for election crimes and enact changes designed to make mail ballots more secure. It would give the secretary of state's office the power to file and prosecute election fraud cases in state courts, along with county prosecutors and the attorney general's office. Read More
MO: House To Move Forward On Photo Voter I.D. - OzarksFirst.com
Missouri House of Representatives' floor leader, Rep. Tim Jones, R-Eureka, says he's "excited" the Missouri Senate has passed legislation that includes photo voter identification provisions. And Jones says he's ready to move ahead with the House's own bill on the topic. On Thursday, the Senate gave final passage to legislation that would require voters to show a government issued voter identification card with a picture in order to receive a ballot. Earlier the House passed legislation that includes both a constitutional amendment and enabling legislation that would put the photo voter identification into practice along with procedures for early voting. Read More
NH: Legislators debate student voting - TheDartmouth.com
Students, citizens and local and state representatives testified at the hearings for two bills — both designed to combat voter fraud — that would inhibit college students’ ability to vote in New Hampshire early Thursday morning. Dartmouth students, along with students from Plymouth State University, Keene State University and the University of New Hampshire, attended the hearings and testified against the bill. The College Democrats, College Republicans and College Libertarians collected approximately 700 signatures in opposition to the proposed legislation and presented the petition as part of their testimony. “This sends a very powerful message,” College Democrats of New Hampshire President Jeremy Kaufmann ’12 said in his testimony. “We’re terrified of the implication of government choosing voters rather than voters choosing the government.” Read More
NM: Clerks: Election code needs updating | KRQE News 13'
New Mexico’s county clerks believe some elections are a giant waste. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of cost savings are part of a set of proposals they are supporting now in the state legislature. “Over the last couple of election cycles I and my fellow clerks have experienced a number of problematic issues,” said Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver. Toulouse Oliver is among the state’s county clerks taking a long hard look at New Mexico’s election code. What they found might surprise you. “There’s some language currently in the election code about lever machines which are things we haven’t used in this state in a generation,” Toulouse Oliver said. That is not the only old school language they found. Ever wonder why school board and bond elections have their very own election day in February? The answer dates back nearly a century. Read More
NY: Burling supports extending deadline for absentee military voting - The Daily News Online: News
Assemblyman Dan Burling, R-Warsaw, has announced his support for extending the deadline for military absentee voting in elections. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced legislation that would increase the window for the upcoming special election in the 26th Congressional District from 30 to 40 days after formal proclamation to 70 to 80 days. "I am pleased to see the governor present this new legislation that would allow for the inclusion of military ballots from our deployed men and women during elections," Burling said. "As a veteran, I know what a great sacrifice our servicemen and women give of themselves. Changing this law ensures that their vote will not be discounted due to time constraints." Read More
OH: Secretary of State Jon Husted Calls for Elections Reform Legislation
At a Statehouse press conference today, Secretary of State Jon Husted outlined his priorities for improving the overall administration of Ohio elections. With the 2012 Presidential Election on the horizon, Husted will work closely with legislative leaders and the Governor to see these changes passed into law and implemented as soon as possible. "The 2012 Presidential Election will have a tremendous impact on our state and nation. My goal is to ensure that the focus is on candidates, not on the process for electing them," Secretary Husted said. "For the vast majority of Ohioans, our elections system works very well, but there are changes we can make to improve overall access and accuracy and thereby, build more confidence in the results." Read More
PA: DePasquale pushes election reform package - York Dispatch
State Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York City, Thursday announced he has reintroduced election reform legislation. At a press conference in his York office, DePasquale detailed four bills. The measures would allow independents to vote in primaries, ease ballot access for third parties, allow early voting, reform corporate campaign contributions and create new disclosure rules for no-bid contracts. DePasquale's proposal would make the number of signatures independent and third-party candidates need to get their names on the November ballot the same as what is required of the Republican and Democratic parties. Currently, a third-party candidate for governor must get the number of signatures equal to 2 percent of the turnout of the previous gubernatorial election. That number can change with each election -- in 2006 it was 26,000 signatures and in 2010 it was 20,000. But it's always much higher than the 2,000 signatures a Republican or Democrat running for statewide office needs, said Stephen Baker, chairman of the Green Party of York County. Read More
National
NIST: Security Considerations for Remote Electronic UOCAVA Voting
NIST is pleased to announce the publication of NIST Interagency Report (NISTIR) 7770- Security Considerations for Remote Electronic UOCAVA Voting (PDF format). This Interagency Report identifies desirable security properties of remote electronic voting systems, potential benefits and threats to these systems, and current and emerging technical approaches for mitigating risks. This report is intended for election officials, technologists, advocacy groups, UOCAVA voting system vendors, and other members of the elections community that will be working with the EAC, NIST, and the FVAP On improving the UOCAVA voting process with the use of electronic technologies. While this report assumes familiarity of the UOCAVA voting process and a high-level understanding of information system security technologies, it is intended to be accessible to a wide audience. Read More
International
Africa: Move over bulky ballot boxes and long queues; the era of e-democracy is here - Daily Nation: -
Uganda was among 17 African countries going to the polls this year. In all these states, the mere mention of electronic voting sparks a debate that portrays Africa as not being ready for digitalised elections. The Electoral Commission of Uganda tried biometric registration in a bid to reduce fraud. Uganda also used ICT in transmitting the results from the district returning officers to the national tallying centre. This is the kind of system that was used in Kenya during the referendum and by-elections with credible success. But the hard nut to crack in most African elections lies in digitalising the whole processes involved so as to attain e-voting alongside e-democracy and e-government. Challenges and the dark side usually take centre stage. Traditionally, an election is symbolised by ballot boxes and tonnes of manual paper work. To many citizens, this makes it “real”. But with the use of ICT, the future spells an evolution of touch screen voting booths and voting via the Internet or on the mobile phone. The shift to virtual ballot boxes that symbolise e-voting presents challenges as well as benefits. Read More
Expat Turks must travel to Turkey to vote June 12 - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review
Turks abroad will not be able to vote in their countries of residence in the June 12 general elections, the Supreme Election Board, or YSK, announced Sunday. More than 2 million Turkish voters abroad will have to wait for another election to be able to cast their votes. The main opposition party, however, accused the government of deliberately blocking those voters in the June 12 elections. If the government wanted to implement the law to allow all Turks abroad to vote, it would be possible to make the necessary arrangements for upcoming elections even in one month, an opposition party figure said. Read More
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