Photo ID legislation leads election news coverage, today's highlights being a hearing before a Minnesota House panel, and a Colorado House committee's vote in favor of a photo ID bill. Bangladesh's government has announced its intention to adopt electronic voting for future elections.
All this and more in today's Voting News below.
CO: Voter ID Proposal Gains Steam In Colo. House
A requirement that voters show photo IDs at the polls before casting ballots has cleared a Colorado House committee for the first time after years of debate. Read More
FL: Elections chief Bucher's goal: Results by midnight on election nights in PB Co.
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher promised yet again today to halt the county's decade-long struggle to return election results quickly and accurately, recapping for the nonpartisan Palm Beach County Voters Coalition the initiatives that she said will ease that harsh spotlight and take her office "off the radar." Read More
GA: Secretary of state visits Valdosta - Live, Local, Late Breaking news, weather, and sports
Georgia's secretary of state says he supports giving voters plenty of opportunity to vote, but he wants to lower the costs of elections. Read More
MN: Voter ID bill stirs debate in committee hearing | Minnesota Public Radio News
Two bills that would require Minnesotans to show a photo ID before they can vote got their first formal airings at the Capitol Thursday. A House panel heard advocates say it would be a basic protection against vote fraud. But others said it would keep people away from the polls. Read More
MN: MinnPost - Technological glitches disrupt GOP pitch for high-tech voting system
As part of her massive bill that includes the controversial provision requiring voters to have a photo ID, Kiffmeyer proposes that an electronic roster would be far better than the current system of voters signing in on Election Day. Read More
MN: Dayton unconvinced on photo ID | Capitol View | Minnesota Public Radio
Gov. Mark Dayton says a bill that would require Minnesotans to show photo identification before voting as "a solution looking for a problem." But Dayton is stopping short of a veto threat. Read More
MS: Lowndes absentee balloting questioned by Miss. secretary of state - The Dispatch
An abnormality in absentee voting during Lowndes County's November circuit court elections caught the eye of the secretary of state's office. Read More
NM: GOP lawmaker proposes voter ID requirement - KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com |
Rep. Dianne Hamilton, a Silver City Republican, introduced a bill on Wednesday to require New Mexico voters to show a government identification card with a photograph, such as a driver's license. Native Americans could use a tribally issued document as identification. Read More
NC: Voter photo IDs will take money state doesn't have | The Asheville Citizen-Times | citizen-times.com
Do individuals show up in massive numbers attempting to impersonate other individuals and steal their votes?There's absolutely no evidence that's the case. Read More
ND: Fargo Rep. Kasper's bill would require in-person polling sites in small towns
North Dakota state Rep. Jim Kasper said it should be easier for North Dakotans to vote in person, instead of relying on voting by mail. Read More
SC: Voter ID debate continues - The Item: News: vote, election, voterid,
The new ID system is expected to cost $720,000 for the first year and $260,000 per year after that. That money would be used primarily for camera equipment at local voter registration offices, where voters would be able to get a photo ID card free of charge. Read More
TN: Election board to meet with city leaders today | dnj.com | The Daily News Journal
Election Administrator Tom Walker and fellow Republican Election Commission Chairwoman Doris Jones and Democratic Election Commissioner Johnny Taylor will meet with Murfreesboro City Manager Rob Lyons and Assistant City Manager Jim Crumley to discuss the city using three or four large and less expensive voter centers instead of 14 smaller precincts in the next election. Read More
WI: TOWN OF KINNICKINNIC PUBLIC NOTICE | River Falls Journal | River Falls, Wisconsin
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Public Test of the automatic tabulating equipment and electronic voting equipment to be used at the Election on February 15, 2011, in the Town of Kinnickinnic, will be conducted at 9:00 a.m. on February 8, 2011 at the Town Hall, 1271 County Road J, River Falls, WI 54022. This test is open to the general public.
WI: Don’t make it harder to vote in Wisconsin
The standard for election reform in Wisconsin should remain as it has always been: Every reform should be designed to encourage and enhance participation by voters and candidates. The point should be to maintain one of the most vibrant and representative states in the U.S. To that end, voting should remain easy -- with same-day registration and flexibility regarding voter ID -- and respectful of the fact that the highest purpose of any democratic experiment is to ensure that the most citizens vote. Read More
International
Tajikistan to introduce electronic voting for 2015 elections
Tajikistan will partially introduce an electronic voting system in time for its 2015 parliamentary elections if finances permit. Read More
Bangladesh: Govt to press e-voting | Bangladesh | bdnews24.com
The government will introduce electronic voting to check fraud in future elections, says the prime minister. Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNewsSubscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
Please send article suggestions to votingnews@verifiedvoting.org.
=============================================The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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-vnDisclaimer: 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.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
SC election officials point to human error in ballot discrepancy; vote by mail bill fails in MT House; early WV primary likely
The Photo ID debate shows no sign of cooling in TX, WI, and NC. In SC, the state Election Commission's investigation concludes that Colleton County ballot discrepancies resulted from human error. In Montana, vote by mail legislation suffers an unexpected reversal, and in WV lawmakers seem likely to advance the gubernatorial primary to May 14.
All this and more in today's Voting News below.
FL: Many ballots remained silent on Sink and Scott | HeraldTribune.com
Florida's charged campaign for governor -- which featured waves of negative television ads -- might have turned off a higher number of voters last year. Read More
IL: Change of Subject: The icy blizzard thaws my heart about early voting & 'dibs'
Election officials say there's no precedent for postponing an election here on account of weather, so voter turnout in Chicago would almost certainly be far lower than the pathetic 27.3 percent we got 12 months ago when two whisker-close races for Illinois governor were at the top of the ballot. Read More
MA: Judge rules that two tied in Central Mass. House race - The Boston Globe
A Worcester Superior Court judge ruled yesterday that a hotly contested election for state representative in Central Massachusetts is a tie, an exceedingly rare result, and ordered a new election. Read More
MT: The Laurel Outlook:News
What a difference a day makes. One day after giving preliminary approval to vote-by-mail balloting in all but school elections, the House reversed itself and torpedoed the idea. Read More
NC: Alleged lawbreaking, impropriety and fraud undermine confidence in Forsyth elections
The Forsyth County Board of Elections will hold an open hearing on Feb. 7 to consider alleged election law violations. Read More
NC: ISS - Report: Voter ID law 'unaffordable' for North Carolina
Today, Facing South and the Institute for Southern Studies released an analysis [pdf] showing that a voter ID bill proposed by North Carolina Republicans could cost the state $20 million or more over the next three years, exacerbating the state's $3.7 billion budget gap. Read More
OH: Auroraadvocate.com - Our View: New voting machines are good deal for Portage Co.
The Portage County Board of Elections has done the right thing in deciding to acquire for free 99 new voting machines, formerly manufactured by Diebold.
Ohio's top elections official wants a federal court ruling appealed in a disputed election for a juvenile court judge in the county that includes Cincinnati. Read More
Panel: Human error, not voting machines, skewed Colleton County election results | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment
Colleton County's election results were skewed by human error that had nothing to do with the electronic voting machines, according to an investigation by the S.C. Election Commission. Read More
TX: Bruce Sherbet says dispute with John Wiley Price lies at the heart of his forced resignation | Dallas - The Dallas Morning News
Sherbet said he now suspects one reason for his departure was that he declined a request from Price during the last day of early voting in October to send some of his clerks to a Duncanville polling place that had long lines. Read More
TX: Voters called to stand in HD48 contest | KXAN.com
Howard first beat her Republican opponent Dan Neil in November’s election by 16 votes, then later in a recount by 12 votes. In the days to follow, Neil’s attorneys have scoured the ballots cast in the Travis County district for any sign of error. Read More
TX: San Antonio Current - NEWS+FEATURES: Show me your pictures: How near-certain Voter ID laws will affect you
John Tanner, former chief of the Voting Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division during the last Bush administration, says Texas offers unique impediments that will block voters from obtaining photo identification that states like Indiana and Georgia — where voter ID laws passed and were deemed constitutional by the courts — did not have. Read More King County's once tarnished elections office "has become an international model for the efficient and accurate administration of elections," an oversight group says in its annual report. Ellen Hansen, chairwoman of the Citizens' Elections Oversight Committee, said election officials from other counties and states now visit King County to learn how to count ballots accurately and in a way the public can understand. Read More
WA: Abandon presidential primary, leaders say | The Columbian
Neither major political party relies on the Washington presidential primary to choose its delegates to the national conventions. In 2008, the state Democratic Party ignored the election’s result and chose its delegates in local caucus meetings. The Republican Party chose a portion of its delegates in local caucuses and the rest through the presidential primary. Read More
WV: 7 W.Va. Towns Will Test Voting By Mail This Year
Secretary ofState
Natalie Tennant says voters in seven West Virginia towns will be given the chance to vote by mail. Read More
WV: House, Senate pass bills - NewsandSentinel.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Support waned in the House to hold conventions to choose party nominees as delegates passed House Bill 2853 setting the primary election on May 14, a Saturday, and the general election on Sept. 13. The Senate version follows the dates earlier proposed by Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin for a primary on June 20, West Virginia Day, and the general election on Oct. 4. Read More
WI: It's about time for this law - JSOnline
Opponents of the law argue that it's not needed because there is no proof that widespread voter fraud occurs. The word "widespread" always strikes me in that argument. Just how widespread does fraud have to be before opponents of voter ID would support it? And if proof is lacking, perhaps it's because it's impossible to prove people voted fraudulently if they don't even have to prove who they are when they vote. Read More
WI: The cost of vote suppression - JSOnline
There are a lot of questions that still need to be addressed. Why in the world is a U.S. passport not considered a valid form of ID? Or a student ID with a photo? For that matter, a recognized employer ID with a photo should work. If the point of a voter ID law is not merely to suppress votes, then it should be more flexible, shouldn't it? Read More
WI: TOWN OF TRIMBELLE TEST OF VOTING MACHINE | Pierce County Herald | Ellsworth, Wisconsin
Notice is hereby given that the public test of the Electronic Voting Equipment to be used at the Primary Election on February 15th, 2011 will be conducted at the Trimbelle Town Hall, N5310 800th Street, Ellsworth, Wisconsin at 6:45 p.m. on Monday, February 7, 2011. The public test is open to the general public.
WI: Common Council urges changes to voter ID bill - JSOnline
Numerous absentee ballots could be invalidated without voters' knowledge if a voter identification bill is passed, Milwaukee city officials are warning. Read More
WI: Got a Photo ID? | Pierce County Herald | Ellsworth, Wisconsin
The National Conference of State Legislatures reports 27 states require some form of voter ID. But most states allow a variety of forms – including hunting and fishing licenses, student IDs and Medicare or social security cards. Only two states, Georgia, and Indiana, require a photo ID. No state requires the ID be as narrowly defined as the bill being debated in Wisconsin. Read More
WI: Nancy F. McDonald: Voter ID bill will fix a nonexistent problem
Wisconsin voter fraud in November 2008 was 0.0008 percent, according to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNewsSubscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
Please send article suggestions to votingnews@verifiedvoting.org.
=============================================The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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-vnDisclaimer: 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.
All this and more in today's Voting News below.
FL: Many ballots remained silent on Sink and Scott | HeraldTribune.com
Florida's charged campaign for governor -- which featured waves of negative television ads -- might have turned off a higher number of voters last year. Read More
IL: Change of Subject: The icy blizzard thaws my heart about early voting & 'dibs'
Election officials say there's no precedent for postponing an election here on account of weather, so voter turnout in Chicago would almost certainly be far lower than the pathetic 27.3 percent we got 12 months ago when two whisker-close races for Illinois governor were at the top of the ballot. Read More
MA: Judge rules that two tied in Central Mass. House race - The Boston Globe
A Worcester Superior Court judge ruled yesterday that a hotly contested election for state representative in Central Massachusetts is a tie, an exceedingly rare result, and ordered a new election. Read More
MT: The Laurel Outlook:News
What a difference a day makes. One day after giving preliminary approval to vote-by-mail balloting in all but school elections, the House reversed itself and torpedoed the idea. Read More
NC: Alleged lawbreaking, impropriety and fraud undermine confidence in Forsyth elections
The Forsyth County Board of Elections will hold an open hearing on Feb. 7 to consider alleged election law violations. Read More
NC: ISS - Report: Voter ID law 'unaffordable' for North Carolina
Today, Facing South and the Institute for Southern Studies released an analysis [pdf] showing that a voter ID bill proposed by North Carolina Republicans could cost the state $20 million or more over the next three years, exacerbating the state's $3.7 billion budget gap. Read More
OH: Auroraadvocate.com - Our View: New voting machines are good deal for Portage Co.
The Portage County Board of Elections has done the right thing in deciding to acquire for free 99 new voting machines, formerly manufactured by Diebold.
The machines became available following a settlement between Diebold and the state of Ohio, which under former Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner demonstrated the machines had issues that entailed accuracy and ease of invasion by outsiders. Read More
Ohio's top elections official wants a federal court ruling appealed in a disputed election for a juvenile court judge in the county that includes Cincinnati. Read More
Panel: Human error, not voting machines, skewed Colleton County election results | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment
Colleton County's election results were skewed by human error that had nothing to do with the electronic voting machines, according to an investigation by the S.C. Election Commission. Read More
TX: Bruce Sherbet says dispute with John Wiley Price lies at the heart of his forced resignation | Dallas - The Dallas Morning News
Sherbet said he now suspects one reason for his departure was that he declined a request from Price during the last day of early voting in October to send some of his clerks to a Duncanville polling place that had long lines. Read More
TX: Voters called to stand in HD48 contest | KXAN.com
Howard first beat her Republican opponent Dan Neil in November’s election by 16 votes, then later in a recount by 12 votes. In the days to follow, Neil’s attorneys have scoured the ballots cast in the Travis County district for any sign of error. Read More
TX: San Antonio Current - NEWS+FEATURES: Show me your pictures: How near-certain Voter ID laws will affect you
John Tanner, former chief of the Voting Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division during the last Bush administration, says Texas offers unique impediments that will block voters from obtaining photo identification that states like Indiana and Georgia — where voter ID laws passed and were deemed constitutional by the courts — did not have. Read More King County's once tarnished elections office "has become an international model for the efficient and accurate administration of elections," an oversight group says in its annual report. Ellen Hansen, chairwoman of the Citizens' Elections Oversight Committee, said election officials from other counties and states now visit King County to learn how to count ballots accurately and in a way the public can understand. Read More
WA: Abandon presidential primary, leaders say | The Columbian
Neither major political party relies on the Washington presidential primary to choose its delegates to the national conventions. In 2008, the state Democratic Party ignored the election’s result and chose its delegates in local caucus meetings. The Republican Party chose a portion of its delegates in local caucuses and the rest through the presidential primary. Read More
WV: 7 W.Va. Towns Will Test Voting By Mail This Year
Secretary of
WV: House, Senate pass bills - NewsandSentinel.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Support waned in the House to hold conventions to choose party nominees as delegates passed House Bill 2853 setting the primary election on May 14, a Saturday, and the general election on Sept. 13. The Senate version follows the dates earlier proposed by Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin for a primary on June 20, West Virginia Day, and the general election on Oct. 4. Read More
WI: It's about time for this law - JSOnline
Opponents of the law argue that it's not needed because there is no proof that widespread voter fraud occurs. The word "widespread" always strikes me in that argument. Just how widespread does fraud have to be before opponents of voter ID would support it? And if proof is lacking, perhaps it's because it's impossible to prove people voted fraudulently if they don't even have to prove who they are when they vote. Read More
WI: The cost of vote suppression - JSOnline
There are a lot of questions that still need to be addressed. Why in the world is a U.S. passport not considered a valid form of ID? Or a student ID with a photo? For that matter, a recognized employer ID with a photo should work. If the point of a voter ID law is not merely to suppress votes, then it should be more flexible, shouldn't it? Read More
WI: TOWN OF TRIMBELLE TEST OF VOTING MACHINE | Pierce County Herald | Ellsworth, Wisconsin
Notice is hereby given that the public test of the Electronic Voting Equipment to be used at the Primary Election on February 15th, 2011 will be conducted at the Trimbelle Town Hall, N5310 800th Street, Ellsworth, Wisconsin at 6:45 p.m. on Monday, February 7, 2011. The public test is open to the general public.
WI: Common Council urges changes to voter ID bill - JSOnline
Numerous absentee ballots could be invalidated without voters' knowledge if a voter identification bill is passed, Milwaukee city officials are warning. Read More
WI: Got a Photo ID? | Pierce County Herald | Ellsworth, Wisconsin
The National Conference of State Legislatures reports 27 states require some form of voter ID. But most states allow a variety of forms – including hunting and fishing licenses, student IDs and Medicare or social security cards. Only two states, Georgia, and Indiana, require a photo ID. No state requires the ID be as narrowly defined as the bill being debated in Wisconsin. Read More
WI: Nancy F. McDonald: Voter ID bill will fix a nonexistent problem
Wisconsin voter fraud in November 2008 was 0.0008 percent, according to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNewsSubscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
Please send article suggestions to votingnews@verifiedvoting.org.
=============================================The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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-vnDisclaimer: 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.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
WV eyes May 14 primary; TX Senate passes photo ID bill
The Texas Senate has enacted photo ID legislation; the bill now moves to the state House. Palm Beach County, FL looks to use modem reporting of ballot-scanner results. Interantionally, the use of EVMs is expanding in India's Uttar Pradesh state.
All this and more in today's Voting News below.
FL: Broward commissioners scrap plans for elections headquarters, restart search for new site - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Broward County taxpayers no longer can afford a new $22 million elections headquarters, and the county Tuesday walked away from a deal that was made at the height of the real estate market. Read More
FL: Broward Politics | Sun Sentinel Blogs | Broward voters, candidates, might wait years for elections hub
Broward County taxpayers no longer can afford a $22 million brand new elections headquarters, and the county Tuesday walked away from a deal that was made at the height of the real estate market. Read More
FL: Palm Beach County plans modems for voting machines - Florida Wires - MiamiHerald.com
The county's supervisor of elections says she plans to add modems to voting machines to cut the time it takes to tally votes. That comes after a gubernatorial election in which the county, along with others, was criticized for its slow count. Read More
FL: Thousands skipped governor's race on '10 ballot | HeraldTribune.com
The state Division of Elections report – given to state lawmakers after every major election - is designed to evaluate voting systems. It concluded the higher number of people skipping the governor's race was not related to voting technology. Read More
IA: New voter ID bill may hurt students - The Daily Iowan
Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett estimated the program would cost Iowa $1 million annually. Slockett said auditors feel they were “misled” by House Republicans. County auditors plan to talk this week with experts from other states, and they will discuss their findings on Feb. 11. Slockett said the they were led to believe Republicans would wait until after this meeting to enact legislation. Read More
he bill, HF210, will be heard by the Government Operations and Elections Committee on Feb. 3. Read More
MO: Missouri Senate panel advances voter photo ID measures - KansasCity.com
A Missouri Senate committee has advanced a pair of constitutional amendments that could lead to a photo identification requirement for voters. Read More
NC: Editorial: Putting a face on voters | Salisbury, NC - Salisbury Post
While the ID law may be a remedy in search of a disease, perhaps it would quell claims that North Carolina has a voter fraud problem. Shoring up trust in the system isn’t a bad thing, so long as the law doesn’t disenfranchise marginalized citizens who already think their vote isn’t wanted or doesn’t count. Read More
SC: OpEdNews - Article: SC Republican Commodities Broker Uses FOIA to Investigate Electronic Voting
I first became interested in our voting machines after the Ohio EVEREST report was released in December 2007, which detailed how the iVotronic machines were unsuitable to be using for safe, reliable elections. Read More
SC: SC legislative committee advances voter ID bill - WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC-
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 17-4 Tuesday to advance the measure to the Senate floor after amending the House version. House Republicans pushed their bill through last week on a party-line vote. Read More
SC: Lawmakers advance voter ID bill, opponents rally against it : News : MidlandsConnect.com
Senators substituted the bill with the measure that passed in their chamber last year, with a few tweaks. Their version adds a two-week window of early voting in up to three locations per county. It also adds to the list of accepted photo IDs. Read More
TX: Before addressing budget, Texas Senate passes voter ID bill - Herald-Zeitung Online: Columns
With a $27 billion projected revenue shortfall boring a hole into the state's fiscal years 2012 and 2013, it was generally assumed that both houses of the Texas Legislature would move with all possible speed to devise a budget to maintain state government functions on slimmer rations. Read More
TX: EDITORIAL: House should help put an end to the possibility of voter fraud - The Lufkin Daily News: Editorials
The Texas bill will provide free ID cards, and we can’t think of any reason — other than the potential for perpetrating voter fraud — why anyone would oppose it. In a day when photo identification is readily available and required to do everything from cashing checks to renting a DVD, requiring voters to produce a document is no more onerous than applying for a voter registration card in the first place. Citizens from all walks of life currently must apply in person for myriad public or private goods or services. Read More
VA: Montgomery Co. elections concerns advance to state attorney general - Roanoke.com
[Ed. note: this article could not be accessed as of publication time]
WV: House, Senate pass bills with different election dates - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports
State election officials have asked lawmakers to pass a final bill by Feb. 14 if they choose a May 14 primary. That would allow enough time to schedule in-person early voting and military and other overseas absentee balloting, they've advised legislators. Read More
WI: The Badger Herald: DOJ task force charges 20 with voter fraud in ‘08
David Canon, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, said the [photo ID] bill would do little to counter the many types of voter fraud that the election task force has found. Read More
National
The Real Cost of the GOP’s Push for Voter ID Laws - COLORLINES
In addition to Texas, party leaders are already in talks to introduce similar bills in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin. But as Chris Kromm wrote last week at the Institute for Southern Studies, each bill comes at a substantial cost. Read More
Internet Voting Watch
Canada | Online Party of Canada: How democratic are our elections?
OPC wishes to attract Canadians who are disenchanted with the current political system and want a fresh start. We offer an online voting mechanism that is fair, auditable and continuous; members can vote and change their vote at anytime. While all votes are equal, we offer specialist opinions and strong leadership to encourage informed and educated voting across diverse issues. Read More
International
India: EVMs to replace ballot papers for local polls - The Times of India
The Uttar Pradesh election commission has decided to use electronic voting machines in the elections for local bodies, which are scheduled to be held sometime this year. An information to this effect was given by the state election commissioner (SEC) Rajendra Bhaunwal here on Tuesday. Read More
India: EVMs to be used for urban local bodies’ polls
To ensure free and fair polls, electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used for the first time in the urban local bodies’ elections, which are due in November. Read More
India: E-vote in four municipalities | Bangladesh | bdnews24.com
It will be the second time in the country's history that people will use their franchise by e-voting machines in the local elections, M Sakhawat Hossain said in a briefing at his office on Tuesday. Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNewsSubscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
Please send article suggestions to votingnews@verifiedvoting.org.
=============================================The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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-vnDisclaimer: 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.
All this and more in today's Voting News below.
FL: Broward commissioners scrap plans for elections headquarters, restart search for new site - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Broward County taxpayers no longer can afford a new $22 million elections headquarters, and the county Tuesday walked away from a deal that was made at the height of the real estate market. Read More
FL: Broward Politics | Sun Sentinel Blogs | Broward voters, candidates, might wait years for elections hub
Broward County taxpayers no longer can afford a $22 million brand new elections headquarters, and the county Tuesday walked away from a deal that was made at the height of the real estate market. Read More
FL: Palm Beach County plans modems for voting machines - Florida Wires - MiamiHerald.com
The county's supervisor of elections says she plans to add modems to voting machines to cut the time it takes to tally votes. That comes after a gubernatorial election in which the county, along with others, was criticized for its slow count. Read More
FL: Thousands skipped governor's race on '10 ballot | HeraldTribune.com
The state Division of Elections report – given to state lawmakers after every major election - is designed to evaluate voting systems. It concluded the higher number of people skipping the governor's race was not related to voting technology. Read More
IA: New voter ID bill may hurt students - The Daily Iowan
Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett estimated the program would cost Iowa $1 million annually. Slockett said auditors feel they were “misled” by House Republicans. County auditors plan to talk this week with experts from other states, and they will discuss their findings on Feb. 11. Slockett said the they were led to believe Republicans would wait until after this meeting to enact legislation. Read More
KS: Supporters of voter ID bill testify in Topeka | State Government | Wichita Eagle
The secretary of state and the ranking Democrat on the House Elections Committee traded jabs Monday over a bill to force new voter registrants to prove their citizenship and to require all voters to provide photo identification. Read More
MN: Voter photo ID battle begins anew | kare11.com
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie Wednesday suggested the cost of installing the new electronic roster books at 5,000 polling places across Minnesota would cost $20 million. Democrats pointed out that the state of Missouri spent $18 million printing new ID's alone. Read More
he bill, HF210, will be heard by the Government Operations and Elections Committee on Feb. 3. Read More
MO: Missouri Senate panel advances voter photo ID measures - KansasCity.com
A Missouri Senate committee has advanced a pair of constitutional amendments that could lead to a photo identification requirement for voters. Read More
NC: Editorial: Putting a face on voters | Salisbury, NC - Salisbury Post
While the ID law may be a remedy in search of a disease, perhaps it would quell claims that North Carolina has a voter fraud problem. Shoring up trust in the system isn’t a bad thing, so long as the law doesn’t disenfranchise marginalized citizens who already think their vote isn’t wanted or doesn’t count. Read More
SC: OpEdNews - Article: SC Republican Commodities Broker Uses FOIA to Investigate Electronic Voting
I first became interested in our voting machines after the Ohio EVEREST report was released in December 2007, which detailed how the iVotronic machines were unsuitable to be using for safe, reliable elections. Read More
SC: SC legislative committee advances voter ID bill - WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC-
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 17-4 Tuesday to advance the measure to the Senate floor after amending the House version. House Republicans pushed their bill through last week on a party-line vote. Read More
SC: Lawmakers advance voter ID bill, opponents rally against it : News : MidlandsConnect.com
Senators substituted the bill with the measure that passed in their chamber last year, with a few tweaks. Their version adds a two-week window of early voting in up to three locations per county. It also adds to the list of accepted photo IDs. Read More
TX: Before addressing budget, Texas Senate passes voter ID bill - Herald-Zeitung Online: Columns
With a $27 billion projected revenue shortfall boring a hole into the state's fiscal years 2012 and 2013, it was generally assumed that both houses of the Texas Legislature would move with all possible speed to devise a budget to maintain state government functions on slimmer rations. Read More
TX: EDITORIAL: House should help put an end to the possibility of voter fraud - The Lufkin Daily News: Editorials
The Texas bill will provide free ID cards, and we can’t think of any reason — other than the potential for perpetrating voter fraud — why anyone would oppose it. In a day when photo identification is readily available and required to do everything from cashing checks to renting a DVD, requiring voters to produce a document is no more onerous than applying for a voter registration card in the first place. Citizens from all walks of life currently must apply in person for myriad public or private goods or services. Read More
VA: Montgomery Co. elections concerns advance to state attorney general - Roanoke.com
[Ed. note: this article could not be accessed as of publication time]
WV: House, Senate pass bills with different election dates - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports
State election officials have asked lawmakers to pass a final bill by Feb. 14 if they choose a May 14 primary. That would allow enough time to schedule in-person early voting and military and other overseas absentee balloting, they've advised legislators. Read More
WI: The Badger Herald: DOJ task force charges 20 with voter fraud in ‘08
David Canon, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, said the [photo ID] bill would do little to counter the many types of voter fraud that the election task force has found. Read More
National
The Real Cost of the GOP’s Push for Voter ID Laws - COLORLINES
In addition to Texas, party leaders are already in talks to introduce similar bills in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin. But as Chris Kromm wrote last week at the Institute for Southern Studies, each bill comes at a substantial cost. Read More
Internet Voting Watch
Canada | Online Party of Canada: How democratic are our elections?
OPC wishes to attract Canadians who are disenchanted with the current political system and want a fresh start. We offer an online voting mechanism that is fair, auditable and continuous; members can vote and change their vote at anytime. While all votes are equal, we offer specialist opinions and strong leadership to encourage informed and educated voting across diverse issues. Read More
International
India: EVMs to replace ballot papers for local polls - The Times of India
The Uttar Pradesh election commission has decided to use electronic voting machines in the elections for local bodies, which are scheduled to be held sometime this year. An information to this effect was given by the state election commissioner (SEC) Rajendra Bhaunwal here on Tuesday. Read More
India: EVMs to be used for urban local bodies’ polls
To ensure free and fair polls, electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used for the first time in the urban local bodies’ elections, which are due in November. Read More
India: E-vote in four municipalities | Bangladesh | bdnews24.com
It will be the second time in the country's history that people will use their franchise by e-voting machines in the local elections, M Sakhawat Hossain said in a briefing at his office on Tuesday. Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNewsSubscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
Please send article suggestions to votingnews@verifiedvoting.org.
=============================================The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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-vnDisclaimer: 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.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Cost of Voter ID, Mail-In Voting in CO, New Push for DC Voting Rights
AR: New ballots are not ready | The Baxter Bulletin
Touch-screen voting may be on hold in Baxter County and other counties across the state. Baxter County Clerk Rhonda Porter said the county has not received electronic ballots from the state for its iVotronics touch-screen voting machines. Porter said early voting begins Monday and paper ballots will be available to voters who want to vote early. "No matter what, it won't affect people's ability to vote," Porter said. Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels said some counties will not be able to use their touch-screen voting machines during the early voting period, but the problem should be fixed in time for the primary election May 23. Read More
CO: State could soon have mostly mail-in elections - 9NEWS.com Denver
Colorado's future elections would be mostly conducted by mail under a proposal set to be debated at the State Capitol. House Bill 1131 would require eligible voters to receive their ballot at their home and they could vote either by sending it in, dropping it off or surrendering it at what's being called a "service center" in the eight days leading up to and on Election Day in exchange for a ballot they could then cast in person. "The goal is to recognize that 60 to 70 percent of our population is already requesting a permanent mail-in ballot," said Rep. Carole Murray (R-Castle Rock), the former Douglas County Clerk and Recorder and the primary sponsor of the legislation. "What this does is extend that to 100 percent of our population in all elections." It is estimated the proposal could save county clerks statewide a minimum of $12 million. Colorado lawmakers changed the law before the 2010 primary election to allow counties the choice of holding that election by mail. Numerous counties did so and saved significant money in the process. Read More
CO: Under scrutiny, Gessler brushes off critics - KWGN
In just his third week on the job, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has already attracted more news coverage -- and controversy -- than his predecessor did in two years. Or so it seems. Democratic critics have been relentlessly attacking Gessler for his plan to continue doing legal work for his old law firm, which specializes in election law -- a potential conflict of interest for the officer charged with overseeing elections for the state. Read More
DC: Advocates Renew Fight For D.C. Voting Rights : NPR
The District of Columbia does not have a full vote in Congress, despite having more than half a million residents. But what many may not know is that every law passed by the city's council is submitted for congressional review, including the recent same-sex marriage bill which went into effect last year. Host Michel Martin speaks about the latest in the fight to gain voting rights for residents of D-C with R. Clarke Cooper. Cooper is Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a group that advocates for marriage equality in the District. Also joining the conversation is Ilir Zherka, executive director of DC Vote. Read More and Listen to Podcast
IN: Vote center bill could get House vote this week | Journal and Courier
After passing through a House committee 10-3 this past week, a Senate bill that would extend the life of vote centers in Tippecanoe County could be voted on by the full House next week. A schedule of the House's voting plans will be published Monday. Senate Bill 32, which sailed through the Senate in record time, cleared the House elections committee on Wednesday. Last year a bill to extend the vote center system stalled because lawmakers could not agree on absentee voting language included in the bill. Lafayette-area legislators have said it's important to keep this year's bill "clean" and get it passed early in the session. Read More
IA: Proof of citizenship would be required for college financial aid, voting - Iowa State Daily
Iowa House Republicans say they are aiming to stop fraud with bills drafted, which would require proof of citizenship be provided for voting and applying for financial aid for college. Rep. Mark Brandenburg, R-Pottawattamie, sponsored House File 113, which would require proof of citizenship or lawful residency in the country to apply for federal financial aid for Iowa colleges. Anyone who cannot provide proof would not be awarded student financial assistance by the higher education institution. HF 113 directs community colleges and Regents universities to require proof for students applying for federal financial aid at public colleges. It would prohibit a university from providing scholarships or other aid to someone who cannot provide citizenship proof. Read More
MT: Voter Issues Debated in Legislature | KXLF.com | Butte, Montana
For local democrat JP Pomnichowski, voting isn't something you need to earn, it's a natural born right. And this is why she thinks mail-in ballots are a good thing. She said they give people more time to consider the issues and make informed decisions. Conservative Carl Graham disagreed. He said voting isn't about sitting on the couch and checking a box. He added, "Rights come with responsibilities. If you're going to exercise your rights you take on certain responsibilities and that responsibility is to inform yourself and be a responsible part in our democratic process." Read More
MT: Election officials: voter fraud not a problem - The Bozeman Daily Chronicle: News
Montana's elections are getting a bad rap in the Legislature this year, with several lawmakers bringing forward bills under the pretense that elections have been fraught with fraud. One bill would get rid of the popular late-registration process in the state. Another would require state-issued identification cards in order for voters to register. And on Friday, the House of Representatives defeated a vote-by-mail measure, largely out of fear that it could be abused by people who want to skew the vote. However, federal, state and county election officials all say that voter fraud is not a serious issue in Montana, with few reports of people abusing the ballots and even fewer substantiated claims. "We're not getting inundated with calls," said Victoria Francis, of the U.S. District Attorney's Office in Montana, which sets up a hotline for every election that people can call to report voter fraud. "We send out a press release (about the hotline) every election cycle, all the newspapers in the state run it. We just don't get very many calls." Read More
TN: Shelby County v. Holder: Oral Argument Preview - Huffington Post
On Wednesday, February 2, U.S. District Judge John Bates will hear oral argument in one of the most important civil rights cases pending in the lower federal courts, Shelby County v. Holder, a case with nationwide ramifications for the right to vote and our democracy. At issue in Shelby County is the constitutionality of Congress' nearly unanimous 2006 decision to renew one of the most important and successful provisions of the Voting Right Act -- the Act's preclearance requirement (which requires certain jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting to obtain federal permission before altering their voting laws or regulations). The Supreme Court has, on four separate occasions, upheld the constitutionality of the Act's preclearance provision - in 1966, 1973, 1980, and 1999 - concluding that Congress has broad power under the explicit grant of enforcement power in the Fifteenth Amendment to prevent and deter racial discrimination in voting. But in June 2009, in NAMUDNO v. Holder, the Supreme Court came dangerously close to striking down this critical provision. In an 8-1 ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court declined to decide the constitutionality of Congress' 2006 renewal of the preclearance provision, but invited future challenges. Shelby County, Alabama, accepted the invitation, filing suit earlier this year in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Judge Bates has set aside two and-a-half hours for oral argument to carefully consider Shelby County's claim. Read More
TX: Voter ID bill will exclude student ID cards
A voter identification bill has sailed through the Texas State Senate, but student ID cards were left behind. Last week the Senate voted along party lines, 19 Republicans to 11 Democrats, to pass SB 14 and put Texas on its way to having one of the toughest election laws in the country. Although five forms of identification were approved, an amendment to add college and university student ID cards was not. Currently, only a voter registration card is needed to vote. The bill calls for voters to present a certain form of ID. Read More
VA: Board of Elections asks for probe into Montgomery County voting - wdbj7.com
The State Board of Elections is asking the Virginia Attorney General’s Office to investigate allegations of voting irregularities in Montgomery County. Meeting Monday afternoon in Richmond, members of the board could have petitioned for the removal of the registrar or members of the local electoral board, but chose to request the investigation instead. Read More
WA: Pierce County all-mail voting bill clears committee | Political Buzz
A bill that would require Pierce County to close its last polling places moved forward this morning. The Senate Government Operations Committee approved Senate Bill 5124, sending it to the Rules Committee. The Senate Government Operations Committee approved Senate Bill 5124, sending it to the Rules Committee. Gov Ops Chairman Craig Pridemore said he supported moving it along because of a separate provision unrelated to the poll voting controversy, but said the all-mail-voting proposal needs more work. Read More
National
The Real Cost of the GOP’s Push for Voter ID Laws - COLORLINES
Texas lawmakers are pushing forward with new state Voter ID legislation that will name the types of identification that will be acceptable at the polls. Local news stations are reporting that student ID’s issued by the state’s colleges and universities are missing from the new bill. Now voting rights advocates are even growing more concerned that the GOP’s real aim is to slowly dismantle hard fought voting rights. Currently, the proposed bill includes five forms of identification that voters would be allowed to show at the polls, including a driver’s license, state ID card, military ID, concealed handgun license and passport. University of Texas Arlington student paper The Shorthorn reports that the Republican-backed bill must first pass the House, where the GOP holds a substantial majority. The effort is part of much larger push by Republicans nationwide to enact stronger Voter ID legislation. In addition to Texas, party leaders are already in talks to introduce similar bills in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin. But as Chris Khrom wrote last week at the Institute for Southern Studies, each bill comes at a substantial cost. Read More
International
Australia: Electoral commission expands NSW e-voting project - NSW state elections 2011, NSW Electoral Commission, e-voting - CIO
The NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC) has drastically expanded the reach of its e-voting project, iVote, which is now predicted to exceed initial expectations of 15,000 users on polling day, 26 March. The project, first slated in June last year, will now allow blind, vision-impaired and disabled voters, as well as those living in remote areas and those out of the state on the day, to cast a secret and unassisted vote from home or in other locations using an interactive voice recognition by phone or through the internet. Read More
Niger: Voting begins in Niger amid fraud worries | World | Reuters
Voters in Niger began casting their ballots on Monday in an election meant to hand power back to civilians in the West African uranium producer, but which could prove contentious due to fears of fraud. The election commission said over the weekend it had been informed fake voter ID cards were sold prior to the poll -- without saying how many -- while eight of the election's ten candidates had called for delays to the vote to allow time for better preparations. The military junta has refused to alter the schedule, however, after having promised to leave power by April, giving time for a likely second round in March. Read More
Nigeria: ‘Made in Nigeria’ voting machines for 2015 election
The Independent National Electoral commission has spent about N34.4 billion on importation of 132,000 units of data capturing machine for the 2011 voter registration exercise but Mohammed Abubakar, Minister of Science and Technology said Nigeria may not have to spend that much again on elections as local technologies for the same purpose are now available. Mr Abubakar said that “the electronic voting machine developed by the Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited, NIGCOMSAT, can assist the nation in biometric registration for election” and that by 2015 it will be ready for use at the election. The minister told journalists in Abuja that the technology would have been used for 2011 voter registration exercise but for some logistics that are not in place.“We have developed that capacity (production of electronic voting machine),” he said. “There was no time for experiment and we did want to take chances with this present voter registration, that is why we are postponing the use of these indigenous voting machines till 2015. Nigerian scientists and engineers have really done well with this new feat.” Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
=============================================
The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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.
Touch-screen voting may be on hold in Baxter County and other counties across the state. Baxter County Clerk Rhonda Porter said the county has not received electronic ballots from the state for its iVotronics touch-screen voting machines. Porter said early voting begins Monday and paper ballots will be available to voters who want to vote early. "No matter what, it won't affect people's ability to vote," Porter said. Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels said some counties will not be able to use their touch-screen voting machines during the early voting period, but the problem should be fixed in time for the primary election May 23. Read More
CO: State could soon have mostly mail-in elections - 9NEWS.com Denver
Colorado's future elections would be mostly conducted by mail under a proposal set to be debated at the State Capitol. House Bill 1131 would require eligible voters to receive their ballot at their home and they could vote either by sending it in, dropping it off or surrendering it at what's being called a "service center" in the eight days leading up to and on Election Day in exchange for a ballot they could then cast in person. "The goal is to recognize that 60 to 70 percent of our population is already requesting a permanent mail-in ballot," said Rep. Carole Murray (R-Castle Rock), the former Douglas County Clerk and Recorder and the primary sponsor of the legislation. "What this does is extend that to 100 percent of our population in all elections." It is estimated the proposal could save county clerks statewide a minimum of $12 million. Colorado lawmakers changed the law before the 2010 primary election to allow counties the choice of holding that election by mail. Numerous counties did so and saved significant money in the process. Read More
CO: Under scrutiny, Gessler brushes off critics - KWGN
In just his third week on the job, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has already attracted more news coverage -- and controversy -- than his predecessor did in two years. Or so it seems. Democratic critics have been relentlessly attacking Gessler for his plan to continue doing legal work for his old law firm, which specializes in election law -- a potential conflict of interest for the officer charged with overseeing elections for the state. Read More
DC: Advocates Renew Fight For D.C. Voting Rights : NPR
The District of Columbia does not have a full vote in Congress, despite having more than half a million residents. But what many may not know is that every law passed by the city's council is submitted for congressional review, including the recent same-sex marriage bill which went into effect last year. Host Michel Martin speaks about the latest in the fight to gain voting rights for residents of D-C with R. Clarke Cooper. Cooper is Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a group that advocates for marriage equality in the District. Also joining the conversation is Ilir Zherka, executive director of DC Vote. Read More and Listen to Podcast
IN: Vote center bill could get House vote this week | Journal and Courier
After passing through a House committee 10-3 this past week, a Senate bill that would extend the life of vote centers in Tippecanoe County could be voted on by the full House next week. A schedule of the House's voting plans will be published Monday. Senate Bill 32, which sailed through the Senate in record time, cleared the House elections committee on Wednesday. Last year a bill to extend the vote center system stalled because lawmakers could not agree on absentee voting language included in the bill. Lafayette-area legislators have said it's important to keep this year's bill "clean" and get it passed early in the session. Read More
IA: Proof of citizenship would be required for college financial aid, voting - Iowa State Daily
Iowa House Republicans say they are aiming to stop fraud with bills drafted, which would require proof of citizenship be provided for voting and applying for financial aid for college. Rep. Mark Brandenburg, R-Pottawattamie, sponsored House File 113, which would require proof of citizenship or lawful residency in the country to apply for federal financial aid for Iowa colleges. Anyone who cannot provide proof would not be awarded student financial assistance by the higher education institution. HF 113 directs community colleges and Regents universities to require proof for students applying for federal financial aid at public colleges. It would prohibit a university from providing scholarships or other aid to someone who cannot provide citizenship proof. Read More
MT: Voter Issues Debated in Legislature | KXLF.com | Butte, Montana
For local democrat JP Pomnichowski, voting isn't something you need to earn, it's a natural born right. And this is why she thinks mail-in ballots are a good thing. She said they give people more time to consider the issues and make informed decisions. Conservative Carl Graham disagreed. He said voting isn't about sitting on the couch and checking a box. He added, "Rights come with responsibilities. If you're going to exercise your rights you take on certain responsibilities and that responsibility is to inform yourself and be a responsible part in our democratic process." Read More
MT: Election officials: voter fraud not a problem - The Bozeman Daily Chronicle: News
Montana's elections are getting a bad rap in the Legislature this year, with several lawmakers bringing forward bills under the pretense that elections have been fraught with fraud. One bill would get rid of the popular late-registration process in the state. Another would require state-issued identification cards in order for voters to register. And on Friday, the House of Representatives defeated a vote-by-mail measure, largely out of fear that it could be abused by people who want to skew the vote. However, federal, state and county election officials all say that voter fraud is not a serious issue in Montana, with few reports of people abusing the ballots and even fewer substantiated claims. "We're not getting inundated with calls," said Victoria Francis, of the U.S. District Attorney's Office in Montana, which sets up a hotline for every election that people can call to report voter fraud. "We send out a press release (about the hotline) every election cycle, all the newspapers in the state run it. We just don't get very many calls." Read More
TN: Shelby County v. Holder: Oral Argument Preview - Huffington Post
On Wednesday, February 2, U.S. District Judge John Bates will hear oral argument in one of the most important civil rights cases pending in the lower federal courts, Shelby County v. Holder, a case with nationwide ramifications for the right to vote and our democracy. At issue in Shelby County is the constitutionality of Congress' nearly unanimous 2006 decision to renew one of the most important and successful provisions of the Voting Right Act -- the Act's preclearance requirement (which requires certain jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting to obtain federal permission before altering their voting laws or regulations). The Supreme Court has, on four separate occasions, upheld the constitutionality of the Act's preclearance provision - in 1966, 1973, 1980, and 1999 - concluding that Congress has broad power under the explicit grant of enforcement power in the Fifteenth Amendment to prevent and deter racial discrimination in voting. But in June 2009, in NAMUDNO v. Holder, the Supreme Court came dangerously close to striking down this critical provision. In an 8-1 ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court declined to decide the constitutionality of Congress' 2006 renewal of the preclearance provision, but invited future challenges. Shelby County, Alabama, accepted the invitation, filing suit earlier this year in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Judge Bates has set aside two and-a-half hours for oral argument to carefully consider Shelby County's claim. Read More
TX: Voter ID bill will exclude student ID cards
A voter identification bill has sailed through the Texas State Senate, but student ID cards were left behind. Last week the Senate voted along party lines, 19 Republicans to 11 Democrats, to pass SB 14 and put Texas on its way to having one of the toughest election laws in the country. Although five forms of identification were approved, an amendment to add college and university student ID cards was not. Currently, only a voter registration card is needed to vote. The bill calls for voters to present a certain form of ID. Read More
VA: Board of Elections asks for probe into Montgomery County voting - wdbj7.com
The State Board of Elections is asking the Virginia Attorney General’s Office to investigate allegations of voting irregularities in Montgomery County. Meeting Monday afternoon in Richmond, members of the board could have petitioned for the removal of the registrar or members of the local electoral board, but chose to request the investigation instead. Read More
WA: Pierce County all-mail voting bill clears committee | Political Buzz
A bill that would require Pierce County to close its last polling places moved forward this morning. The Senate Government Operations Committee approved Senate Bill 5124, sending it to the Rules Committee. The Senate Government Operations Committee approved Senate Bill 5124, sending it to the Rules Committee. Gov Ops Chairman Craig Pridemore said he supported moving it along because of a separate provision unrelated to the poll voting controversy, but said the all-mail-voting proposal needs more work. Read More
National
The Real Cost of the GOP’s Push for Voter ID Laws - COLORLINES
Texas lawmakers are pushing forward with new state Voter ID legislation that will name the types of identification that will be acceptable at the polls. Local news stations are reporting that student ID’s issued by the state’s colleges and universities are missing from the new bill. Now voting rights advocates are even growing more concerned that the GOP’s real aim is to slowly dismantle hard fought voting rights. Currently, the proposed bill includes five forms of identification that voters would be allowed to show at the polls, including a driver’s license, state ID card, military ID, concealed handgun license and passport. University of Texas Arlington student paper The Shorthorn reports that the Republican-backed bill must first pass the House, where the GOP holds a substantial majority. The effort is part of much larger push by Republicans nationwide to enact stronger Voter ID legislation. In addition to Texas, party leaders are already in talks to introduce similar bills in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin. But as Chris Khrom wrote last week at the Institute for Southern Studies, each bill comes at a substantial cost. Read More
International
Australia: Electoral commission expands NSW e-voting project - NSW state elections 2011, NSW Electoral Commission, e-voting - CIO
The NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC) has drastically expanded the reach of its e-voting project, iVote, which is now predicted to exceed initial expectations of 15,000 users on polling day, 26 March. The project, first slated in June last year, will now allow blind, vision-impaired and disabled voters, as well as those living in remote areas and those out of the state on the day, to cast a secret and unassisted vote from home or in other locations using an interactive voice recognition by phone or through the internet. Read More
Niger: Voting begins in Niger amid fraud worries | World | Reuters
Voters in Niger began casting their ballots on Monday in an election meant to hand power back to civilians in the West African uranium producer, but which could prove contentious due to fears of fraud. The election commission said over the weekend it had been informed fake voter ID cards were sold prior to the poll -- without saying how many -- while eight of the election's ten candidates had called for delays to the vote to allow time for better preparations. The military junta has refused to alter the schedule, however, after having promised to leave power by April, giving time for a likely second round in March. Read More
Nigeria: ‘Made in Nigeria’ voting machines for 2015 election
The Independent National Electoral commission has spent about N34.4 billion on importation of 132,000 units of data capturing machine for the 2011 voter registration exercise but Mohammed Abubakar, Minister of Science and Technology said Nigeria may not have to spend that much again on elections as local technologies for the same purpose are now available. Mr Abubakar said that “the electronic voting machine developed by the Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited, NIGCOMSAT, can assist the nation in biometric registration for election” and that by 2015 it will be ready for use at the election. The minister told journalists in Abuja that the technology would have been used for 2011 voter registration exercise but for some logistics that are not in place.“We have developed that capacity (production of electronic voting machine),” he said. “There was no time for experiment and we did want to take chances with this present voter registration, that is why we are postponing the use of these indigenous voting machines till 2015. Nigerian scientists and engineers have really done well with this new feat.” Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
=============================================
The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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.
Friday, January 28, 2011
CO voter-registration bill falls, Passes IA House, Vote by Mail debates in MT
CA: Court says Legislature can't write own ballot language - Capitol Alert
A state appeals court today ruled that the state Legislature did not have authority to draft its own ballot language for the successful high-speed rail bond measure lawmakers placed on the 2008 ballot. State law tasks the state attorney general with writing an impartial ballot title, label and official summary for "measures to be voted on throughout the State," though the Legislature has in the past drafted language for measures it places on the ballot with a two-thirds vote. Read More
CO: Dems quash Colorado voter-registration bill, call it costly and unconstitutional | Colorado Independent
State Democratic lawmakers killed a bill (pdf) yesterday that would have required Coloradans to provide proof of citizenship before registering to vote, saying it was a solution in search of a problem and eschewing vehement testimony from its supporters and new data introduced by new GOP Secretary of State Scott Gessler. Bill sponsor Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, said lawmakers should expect the legislation to be reintroduced in the House. The bill would have required residents to provide either a passport, birth certificate or naturalization papers, among others forms of identification, in order to vote. Currently, the state asks Coloradans only to sign a form attesting that they are citizens and eligible to vote in the country and state. Swearing falsely to citizenship and voter eligibility is a crime. Read More
CO: Hickenlooper urges secretary of state to release department's surplus funds - The Denver Post
Gov. John Hickenlooper said Thursday that Secretary of State Scott Gessler should "do (his) part" and release surplus funds he had planned to keep in his office so the money can be used to help balance the state budget. "I would certainly encourage him to — in this kind of a budget situation — that everybody has to do their part in every way they can," he said. "Our goal to every agency, every arm of government, is that we're all in this together and that everybody's going to have to be trying to cut their costs and find cheaper ways of doing things wherever possible." Read More
CT: UConn VoTeR center audits Nov. elections - The Daily Campus - News
The reliability of voting technology may be improved in future years because of a group of professors, students and engineers at the UConn Voting Technology Research Center. The VoTeR Center, which receives funding from the Secretary of State's Office, opened in 2006 – the same year that Connecticut switched from using polling machines with levers to electronic ballot-counting systems, according to UConn Today. Headed by Alexander Shvartsman, professor of computer science and engineering, the VoTeR Center conducts audits on past elections to find numeric differences between electronically counted ballots and hand-counted ballots. Read More
GA: Secretary of State Kemp Launches Elections Advisory Council Website - The Weekly Online
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp today launched the Elections Advisory Council website, which provides citizens an e-government tool to share their ideas to strengthen Georgia’s elections. The Elections Advisory Council website can be found at www.sos.ga.gov/GAEAC. Citizens can use the website to obtain information on upcoming meetings and provide the Council their suggestions to improve election laws and procedures. “The Elections Advisory Council gives all Georgians the opportunity to share their ideas to strengthen Georgia’s election processes, create cost savings and increase efficiencies at the state, county and local government levels,” said Secretary Kemp. Read More
IA: Iowa House approves photo ID requirement to vote - Quad City Times
The Iowa House approved a measure Thursday that would require voters to show government-issued photo identification before they could cast a ballot. The measure cleared the House on a party-line vote, with Democrats arguing that Republicans supported the measure because they wanted to reduce voter participation. "This bill is designed to keep people away from the polls," said Rep. Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines. Read More
MN: GOP offers major overhaul to Minnesota’s voting system, democrats criticize bill as expensive, a "partisan ploy" | Twin Cities Daily Planet
Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer of Big Lake and Sen. Warren Limmer of Maple Grove unveiled the Republican plan to overhaul the state's voting system at a press conference on Wednesday. Among the proposed changes are the elimination of vouching, implementation of a photo identification system, a ban on health care workers assisting voters in the booth, and massive changes to the recount process. Most of the changes reflect complaints by the conservative group Minnesota Majority, which Kiffmeyer ran several years ago. Read More
MT: House OKs legislation hold all Montana elections by mail - Billings Gazette
After an emotional closing speech by the bill's sponsor, the House on Thursday endorsed a proposal that would set up vote-by-mail for all Montana elections, except those run by schools, starting in 2012. House Bill 130, sponsored by Rep. Pat Ingraham, R-Thompson Falls, was endorsed on a 57-43 vote after a lengthy debate. All 32 House Democrats, joined by 25 House Republicans, supported the bill, while 43 House Republicans opposed it. The measure is expected to face a final House vote Friday and will go to the Senate if it passes. Read More
MT: Mail-in ballots could be difficult for Indian population - Billings Gazette
Not everyone is convinced that a mail-in ballot for all of Montana's major elections is an idea whose time has come. Janet Robideau, of Indian People's Action in Montana, said Thursday that she would like to see more work done on the concept before the Legislature passes a bill to implement it. The House voted in favor of House Bill 130 on a preliminary vote Thursday. But Robideau said her previous experience in voter identification, registration and mobilization among the state's Indians showed her how difficult it can be to contact those voters in an election. “We found extreme difficulty in maintaining a good address list, primarily among Indian folks,” said Robideau, a Northern Cheyenne who lives in Missoula. “A lot of us move back and forth from reservation to town.” Read More
NC: AARP expresses concerns over voter ID impact - NC Policy Watch
Photo ID Requirement May Impact Older Voters
Legislation requiring photo identification in order to vote is expected to be introduced in the General Assembly in the first week of the session. Election officials state that voter fraud occurs with less than five votes out of every million cast. AARP is concerned that this requirement may establish barriers for older adults and people with disabilities who may not have a driver’s license or other photo identification. Many residents of assisted living facilities or nursing homes do not have photo IDs. If legislation is established requiring photo identification, the State of North Carolina should be responsible for paying for any costs associated with obtaining an ID. A greater opportunity for voter fraud is with absentee voting, since these voters do not have to show any ID, or appear before an election official. Voting illegally in North Carolina is a felony under the current law, and voters are required to provide identification to register to vote.” Read More
OH: Appeals court: Ballots cast aside because of poll-worker error should be counted | Cincinnati.Com
A federal appeals court cleared the way Thursday for more ballots to be counted in the razor-close race for Hamilton County Juvenile Court judge. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the county's board of elections to count any ballot that was set aside because poll workers sent voters to the wrong precinct table on Election Day in November. The ruling is a victory for Democrat Tracie Hunter, who trails Republican John Williams by 23 votes and has argued that more of the disputed provisional ballots should be counted. Read More
VA: Virginia Governor appoints ex-Florida elections chief to head SBE - MiamiHerald.com
Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell has consolidated his party's grip on Virginia's State Board of Elections with the appointment of the former chief of Florida's election system and a former executive director of the state GOP. Donald Palmer succeeds Nancy Rodrigues as secretary of the SBE. The four-year term to which Democratic former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine appointed her ended Friday. As director of elections for Florida's Department of State, Palmer oversaw that state's 2008 presidential primaries, general election and last year's midterm congressional election. Read More
WV: Lawmakers Debate Costs, Benefits of Primary Election - WOWKTV.com
While there is little doubt a special election will be held Oct. 4 to choose a new governor, state lawmakers still are grappling with the question of whether to hold a primary election before then to give voters the chance to pick the candidates. A bill setting the primary election for June 20 made its debut before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday, but not before county clerks across the state asked for the primary instead to be held in May. At the same time, two Democrats in the state House of Delegates said they favored political party conventions as the means to nominate candidates. Read More
National
Commentary: A Major Ruling on the Meaning of Bush v. Gore - ElectionLaw @ Moritz
The majority opinion of the Sixth Circuit panel in this Ohio provisional ballot case is, in my judgment, the most significant application of Bush v. Gore in the decade since that precedent was decided. The reason is that this new decision contains an extensive analysis of what Bush v. Gore requires with respect to the category of cases for which that precedent is most germane: disputes about how local election officials treated particular ballots as they decided whether or not to count them. Read More
International
Japan: Courts question constitutionality of vote disparity in 2010 election › Japan Today
The Fukuoka and Osaka High Courts, in rulings handed down Friday, questioned the constitutionality of the disparity of up to five times in the weight of votes cast in different constituencies in last July’s upper house election. In Fukuoka, Presiding Judge Tamio Hirota of the Fukuoka High Court ruled that the fivefold disparity in the weight of votes in the House of Councillors election last year represents ‘‘a violation of the Constitution.’‘ Hirota blamed the current system of dividing up the nation into electoral districts by the nation’s 47 prefectures, not by population, and said that the disparities in the weight of votes under such electoral zoning system ‘‘are currently in an intolerable situation.’‘ The ruling is on one of the series of lawsuits contesting the voting power disparity in the upper house election filed at all of the eight high courts and six branches nationwide. Read More
Pakistan seeks India's help on use of EVMs - The Times of India
Questions may have been raised by some sections about the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) but Pakistan and other neighbouring countries are keen to have them. Pakistan, which is "actively considering" introduction of EVMs for elections, has requested India to send a team of technical hands to demonstrate how these machines function, the Election Commission said in a release. Accordingly, a team from Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL), which manufacture EVMs, will go to Pakistan next month to give a demonstration. Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
=============================================
The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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.
A state appeals court today ruled that the state Legislature did not have authority to draft its own ballot language for the successful high-speed rail bond measure lawmakers placed on the 2008 ballot. State law tasks the state attorney general with writing an impartial ballot title, label and official summary for "measures to be voted on throughout the State," though the Legislature has in the past drafted language for measures it places on the ballot with a two-thirds vote. Read More
CO: Dems quash Colorado voter-registration bill, call it costly and unconstitutional | Colorado Independent
State Democratic lawmakers killed a bill (pdf) yesterday that would have required Coloradans to provide proof of citizenship before registering to vote, saying it was a solution in search of a problem and eschewing vehement testimony from its supporters and new data introduced by new GOP Secretary of State Scott Gessler. Bill sponsor Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, said lawmakers should expect the legislation to be reintroduced in the House. The bill would have required residents to provide either a passport, birth certificate or naturalization papers, among others forms of identification, in order to vote. Currently, the state asks Coloradans only to sign a form attesting that they are citizens and eligible to vote in the country and state. Swearing falsely to citizenship and voter eligibility is a crime. Read More
CO: Hickenlooper urges secretary of state to release department's surplus funds - The Denver Post
Gov. John Hickenlooper said Thursday that Secretary of State Scott Gessler should "do (his) part" and release surplus funds he had planned to keep in his office so the money can be used to help balance the state budget. "I would certainly encourage him to — in this kind of a budget situation — that everybody has to do their part in every way they can," he said. "Our goal to every agency, every arm of government, is that we're all in this together and that everybody's going to have to be trying to cut their costs and find cheaper ways of doing things wherever possible." Read More
CT: UConn VoTeR center audits Nov. elections - The Daily Campus - News
The reliability of voting technology may be improved in future years because of a group of professors, students and engineers at the UConn Voting Technology Research Center. The VoTeR Center, which receives funding from the Secretary of State's Office, opened in 2006 – the same year that Connecticut switched from using polling machines with levers to electronic ballot-counting systems, according to UConn Today. Headed by Alexander Shvartsman, professor of computer science and engineering, the VoTeR Center conducts audits on past elections to find numeric differences between electronically counted ballots and hand-counted ballots. Read More
GA: Secretary of State Kemp Launches Elections Advisory Council Website - The Weekly Online
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp today launched the Elections Advisory Council website, which provides citizens an e-government tool to share their ideas to strengthen Georgia’s elections. The Elections Advisory Council website can be found at www.sos.ga.gov/GAEAC. Citizens can use the website to obtain information on upcoming meetings and provide the Council their suggestions to improve election laws and procedures. “The Elections Advisory Council gives all Georgians the opportunity to share their ideas to strengthen Georgia’s election processes, create cost savings and increase efficiencies at the state, county and local government levels,” said Secretary Kemp. Read More
IA: Iowa House approves photo ID requirement to vote - Quad City Times
The Iowa House approved a measure Thursday that would require voters to show government-issued photo identification before they could cast a ballot. The measure cleared the House on a party-line vote, with Democrats arguing that Republicans supported the measure because they wanted to reduce voter participation. "This bill is designed to keep people away from the polls," said Rep. Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines. Read More
MN: GOP offers major overhaul to Minnesota’s voting system, democrats criticize bill as expensive, a "partisan ploy" | Twin Cities Daily Planet
Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer of Big Lake and Sen. Warren Limmer of Maple Grove unveiled the Republican plan to overhaul the state's voting system at a press conference on Wednesday. Among the proposed changes are the elimination of vouching, implementation of a photo identification system, a ban on health care workers assisting voters in the booth, and massive changes to the recount process. Most of the changes reflect complaints by the conservative group Minnesota Majority, which Kiffmeyer ran several years ago. Read More
MT: House OKs legislation hold all Montana elections by mail - Billings Gazette
After an emotional closing speech by the bill's sponsor, the House on Thursday endorsed a proposal that would set up vote-by-mail for all Montana elections, except those run by schools, starting in 2012. House Bill 130, sponsored by Rep. Pat Ingraham, R-Thompson Falls, was endorsed on a 57-43 vote after a lengthy debate. All 32 House Democrats, joined by 25 House Republicans, supported the bill, while 43 House Republicans opposed it. The measure is expected to face a final House vote Friday and will go to the Senate if it passes. Read More
MT: Mail-in ballots could be difficult for Indian population - Billings Gazette
Not everyone is convinced that a mail-in ballot for all of Montana's major elections is an idea whose time has come. Janet Robideau, of Indian People's Action in Montana, said Thursday that she would like to see more work done on the concept before the Legislature passes a bill to implement it. The House voted in favor of House Bill 130 on a preliminary vote Thursday. But Robideau said her previous experience in voter identification, registration and mobilization among the state's Indians showed her how difficult it can be to contact those voters in an election. “We found extreme difficulty in maintaining a good address list, primarily among Indian folks,” said Robideau, a Northern Cheyenne who lives in Missoula. “A lot of us move back and forth from reservation to town.” Read More
NC: AARP expresses concerns over voter ID impact - NC Policy Watch
Photo ID Requirement May Impact Older Voters
Legislation requiring photo identification in order to vote is expected to be introduced in the General Assembly in the first week of the session. Election officials state that voter fraud occurs with less than five votes out of every million cast. AARP is concerned that this requirement may establish barriers for older adults and people with disabilities who may not have a driver’s license or other photo identification. Many residents of assisted living facilities or nursing homes do not have photo IDs. If legislation is established requiring photo identification, the State of North Carolina should be responsible for paying for any costs associated with obtaining an ID. A greater opportunity for voter fraud is with absentee voting, since these voters do not have to show any ID, or appear before an election official. Voting illegally in North Carolina is a felony under the current law, and voters are required to provide identification to register to vote.” Read More
OH: Appeals court: Ballots cast aside because of poll-worker error should be counted | Cincinnati.Com
A federal appeals court cleared the way Thursday for more ballots to be counted in the razor-close race for Hamilton County Juvenile Court judge. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the county's board of elections to count any ballot that was set aside because poll workers sent voters to the wrong precinct table on Election Day in November. The ruling is a victory for Democrat Tracie Hunter, who trails Republican John Williams by 23 votes and has argued that more of the disputed provisional ballots should be counted. Read More
VA: Virginia Governor appoints ex-Florida elections chief to head SBE - MiamiHerald.com
Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell has consolidated his party's grip on Virginia's State Board of Elections with the appointment of the former chief of Florida's election system and a former executive director of the state GOP. Donald Palmer succeeds Nancy Rodrigues as secretary of the SBE. The four-year term to which Democratic former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine appointed her ended Friday. As director of elections for Florida's Department of State, Palmer oversaw that state's 2008 presidential primaries, general election and last year's midterm congressional election. Read More
WV: Lawmakers Debate Costs, Benefits of Primary Election - WOWKTV.com
While there is little doubt a special election will be held Oct. 4 to choose a new governor, state lawmakers still are grappling with the question of whether to hold a primary election before then to give voters the chance to pick the candidates. A bill setting the primary election for June 20 made its debut before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday, but not before county clerks across the state asked for the primary instead to be held in May. At the same time, two Democrats in the state House of Delegates said they favored political party conventions as the means to nominate candidates. Read More
National
Commentary: A Major Ruling on the Meaning of Bush v. Gore - ElectionLaw @ Moritz
The majority opinion of the Sixth Circuit panel in this Ohio provisional ballot case is, in my judgment, the most significant application of Bush v. Gore in the decade since that precedent was decided. The reason is that this new decision contains an extensive analysis of what Bush v. Gore requires with respect to the category of cases for which that precedent is most germane: disputes about how local election officials treated particular ballots as they decided whether or not to count them. Read More
International
Japan: Courts question constitutionality of vote disparity in 2010 election › Japan Today
The Fukuoka and Osaka High Courts, in rulings handed down Friday, questioned the constitutionality of the disparity of up to five times in the weight of votes cast in different constituencies in last July’s upper house election. In Fukuoka, Presiding Judge Tamio Hirota of the Fukuoka High Court ruled that the fivefold disparity in the weight of votes in the House of Councillors election last year represents ‘‘a violation of the Constitution.’‘ Hirota blamed the current system of dividing up the nation into electoral districts by the nation’s 47 prefectures, not by population, and said that the disparities in the weight of votes under such electoral zoning system ‘‘are currently in an intolerable situation.’‘ The ruling is on one of the series of lawsuits contesting the voting power disparity in the upper house election filed at all of the eight high courts and six branches nationwide. Read More
Pakistan seeks India's help on use of EVMs - The Times of India
Questions may have been raised by some sections about the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) but Pakistan and other neighbouring countries are keen to have them. Pakistan, which is "actively considering" introduction of EVMs for elections, has requested India to send a team of technical hands to demonstrate how these machines function, the Election Commission said in a release. Accordingly, a team from Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL), which manufacture EVMs, will go to Pakistan next month to give a demonstration. Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
=============================================
The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Voting News 01/27/11 - U Michigan Computer Scientist Makes Argument Against Internet Voting?
ID: 45 households in Asotin County get wrong ballot for upcoming election | KLEW CBS 3 - Lewiston, ID
The Asotin County Auditor's Office has sent out new ballots to fix a registration issue. It all started when a concerned citizen brought in his tax information. "His voter registration card showed that he was registered to vote in Asotin School District but he was paying property tax in Clarkston School District," said Asotin County Auditor Darla McKay. "So we did some further investigation with the Assessor's Office and mapped it out and we found that 45 Clarkston School District voters were registered to vote in the Asotin School District." Read More
IL: Court Allows Emanuel on Ballot for Chicago Mayor - NYTimes.com
Rahm Emanuel’s bid to become mayor of this city may proceed, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. The decision appeared to bring an end to weeks of legal debate over whether Mr. Emanuel qualified for the ballot, specifically whether his time in Washington as President Obama’s chief of staff meant that he had given up his residency status in Chicago, where he was born. By Illinois state code, candidates for mayor are required to have resided in Chicago for at least one year before Election Day. Mr. Emanuel left the White House in October, and the election is Feb. 22. Read More
IN: House committee to hear vote center bill | jconline.com | Journal and Courier
A bill that would extend the life of vote centers in Tippecanoe County will be heard by a House committee this afternoon. Senate Bill 32 has already passed out of the Senate and will go before the elections committee in the House chamber at 3:30 p.m. today. Heather Maddox, the Democratic co-director of the Tippecanoe County Board of Elections and Voter Registration, is traveling to Indianapolis and plans to testify in support of the bill today. She said she' worried the bill will face more questions in the House than it did in the Senate. Read More
MN: Kiffmeyer presents voting reform legislation | Hometown Source
Republican Rep. and former Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer of Big Lake argues her voting legislation will catch errors early. “If the math isn’t right upfront, it’s pretty difficult to correct it at the end,” said Kiffmeyer, speaking at a Capitol press today (Wednesday, Jan. 26). Kiffmeyer, as Republicans have for years, wants voting in Minnesota to require a Photo ID. But Kiffmeyer is also proposing the use of a so-called “electronic roster” system, an approach that could allow voters to merely swipe their driver’s license or state identify cards, sign and vote. She envisions the electronic system statewide — some 1200 precincts with fewer than 100 voters would be exempt. Read More
NY: Decision near in ballot fraud probe - Times Union
A Rensselaer County grand jury ended nearly seven hours of deliberation Wednesday in its probe of alleged absentee ballot fraud by nine city Democrats in the 2009 city primary election. The grand jury was behind closed doors Wednesday without any witnesses seen entering to testify. Special Prosecutor Trey Smith declined to comment about the investigation after he left the grand jury room at the Rensselaer County Court House late Wednesday afternoon. Read More
OH: Provisional ballot procedures could change - Hudsonhubtimes.com
Democrats in the Ohio House hope to change the way county elections boards decide whether to count certain provisional ballots. Rep. Alicia Reece, from Cincinnati, plans to offer legislation following an incident in her home district in which voters arrived at the correct polling location but were given ballots for the wrong precinct by poll workers. One candidate in a juvenile court race affected by the situation is leading the other by about 20 votes, with courts disagreeing on whether to count several hundred additional provisional ballots. "It has been a major issue in Hamilton County these past few weeks on what we look upon as an election nightmare... ," Reece told reporters during a press conference at the Statehouse Jan. 19. Read More
SC: House OKs IDs to vote - S.C. Politics - TheState.com
Buoyed by overwhelming Republican support, House lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday requiring voters to present a South Carolina driver’s license, a passport or a new state photo ID at the polls. If it becomes law, the bill will cost the State Election Commission $720,000 in its first year. Republicans say the bill, which passed 74-45 and now heads to the GOP-controlled state Senate, will protect against voter fraud.“The bill before you today is to preserve the integrity of our election system in South Carolina,” said state Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Horry, the bill’s primary sponsor. “We arrive at it by requiring that each voter do no less than what a voter does when they go to Walgreens to buy a bottle of Dimetapp. They present a driver’s license.” Wednesday’s vote marks the second consecutive year that a voter ID bill has passed the House. Last year, the issue died in the Senate. Democrats unsuccessfully argued the bill is an unnecessary expense to taxpayers — saying there is no evidence of voter fraud in the state — and a waste of precious, legislative time that would be better spent addressing the state’s financial woes. South Carolina is facing an $829 million funding shortfall for its budget year that starts July 1. Read More
TX: Few South Texas elections officials back ID plan - San Antonio Express-News
Mail-in ballots are viewed as more of a concern when it comes to potential fraud.
In South Texas, the region with the richest tradition of voter fraud in the state, few election officials believe a new law requiring all voters to have photo identification will do much to curb voting chicanery. The Texas Senate late Wednesday passed the controversial voter ID bill on a 19-11 vote, after more than 40 amendments were proposed — mostly by Democrats — and almost six hours of debate. While the outcome wasn't in doubt, Democrats launched a fierce campaign against the measure, saying it could prevent minority, elderly and more transient voters such as college students from voting. Read More
WI: Changes to voter ID bill suggested - JSOnline
The state's chief election officer recommended changes Wednesday to a bill that would require voters to show photo IDs at the polls, including allowing student IDs and passports to be used for voting. Key senators said they hadn't decided whether to make those changes. The recommendations by Kevin Kennedy, director of the state Government Accountability Board, came at a seven-hour public hearing in which proponents said the photo ID requirement would restore confidence in the election system and detractors said it would disenfranchise thousands of voters. The bill - a top priority in the Republican-run Legislature - would give Wisconsin the strictest photo ID requirement in the country, said David Canon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist. Read More
WY: Voter registration glitch checked - The Casper Journal
Renea Vitto, the Natrona County Clerk, is investigating a possible glitch in the computer software being used for Wyoming’s statewide voter registration system, which is causing some voters to be improperly notified that they have to renew their registration. The problem came to light recently after notices were set to voters in Natrona County whose names weren’t checked in the precinct poll books during last November’s election, indicating they didn’t vote. (It’s standard policy to update voter lists after each general election.) As it turns out, however, some of those who received notices did vote, causing them to also wonder whether their ballots were counted. “The voter’s vote did count,” Vitto said, explaining ballots are handled and counted separately from registration. “The ballots are never correlated to a name. It’s a voter registration issue.” Vitto said the problem seems to be tied to whether a person made a change at the polling place, such as switching parties or giving a new address. While such a change shouldn’t cause a nonvoting notice to be sent, that’s apparently what happened in some cases. Read More
National
Voter ID laws carry hefty price tag for cash-strapped states - Facing South
As state legislatures have opened for business over the last week, GOP lawmakers have begun not by pushing bills focused on jobs, but for measures that would require citizens to show photo identification while voting -- laws which, among other controversial features, will end up costing states tens of millions of dollars to implement. GOP leaders have introduced voter ID bills or plan to in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. In Texas -- which faces a budget shortfall of over $10 billion -- Gov. Rick Perry (R) went so far as to declare voter ID a legislative "emergency" to fast-track the bill. All the bills have sparked controversy. For one, there's scant evidence that voter impersonation at the polls -- the one kind of fraud that ID laws address -- is a big problem. The bills are also viewed by Democrats and voting rights advocates as deeply partisan, given studies that show the elderly, African-Americans, Hispanics/Latinos and other constituencies are most likely to not have the needed ID cards. Read More
Internet Voting Watch
Is online voting in the cards? | The Detroit News
Despite a steady call for better ballot access, security concerns are keeping online voting from universal acceptance. "Imagine what could happen if a career criminal hacker started working on this," said University of Michigan computer science professor J. Alex Halderman. "There are just too many doors in a Web-based system to secure. Nonetheless, and even with a slew of documented problems with electronic voting at traditional polling locations, there's a growing push from voters for even more convenient solutions, including voting online. Halderman, however, advises caution. A team of U-M researchers proved that just because it's possible to book an airline ticket or access a bank account online, voting online is a reality that's at least a decade or more off. Read More
International
India: Poll panel to give e-voting second shot - The Times of India
The State Election Commission (SEC) aims to make e-voting a big success in the elections to newly-formed Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) slated in April-end. The SEC got extremely poor response for its Rs 34-crore e-voting experiment in polls to six municipal corporations in October 2010. Out of 86.16 lakh registered voters, just 124 e-voted in the polls to Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara civic bodies. Read More
Philippines: Use of Precinct Count Optical Scan machines in ARMM poll OK'd | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online
The automated counting machines credited for the speedy results in last year’s national elections have won the nod of an election advisory council for use in the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The multi-sector Commission on Election Advisory Council (CAC) has given its imprimatur on the use of the precinct count optical scan or PCOS machines for the Aug. 8 ARMM polls, in a sign of confidence to the integrity of the machines. Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
=============================================
The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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.
The Asotin County Auditor's Office has sent out new ballots to fix a registration issue. It all started when a concerned citizen brought in his tax information. "His voter registration card showed that he was registered to vote in Asotin School District but he was paying property tax in Clarkston School District," said Asotin County Auditor Darla McKay. "So we did some further investigation with the Assessor's Office and mapped it out and we found that 45 Clarkston School District voters were registered to vote in the Asotin School District." Read More
IL: Court Allows Emanuel on Ballot for Chicago Mayor - NYTimes.com
Rahm Emanuel’s bid to become mayor of this city may proceed, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. The decision appeared to bring an end to weeks of legal debate over whether Mr. Emanuel qualified for the ballot, specifically whether his time in Washington as President Obama’s chief of staff meant that he had given up his residency status in Chicago, where he was born. By Illinois state code, candidates for mayor are required to have resided in Chicago for at least one year before Election Day. Mr. Emanuel left the White House in October, and the election is Feb. 22. Read More
IN: House committee to hear vote center bill | jconline.com | Journal and Courier
A bill that would extend the life of vote centers in Tippecanoe County will be heard by a House committee this afternoon. Senate Bill 32 has already passed out of the Senate and will go before the elections committee in the House chamber at 3:30 p.m. today. Heather Maddox, the Democratic co-director of the Tippecanoe County Board of Elections and Voter Registration, is traveling to Indianapolis and plans to testify in support of the bill today. She said she' worried the bill will face more questions in the House than it did in the Senate. Read More
MN: Kiffmeyer presents voting reform legislation | Hometown Source
Republican Rep. and former Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer of Big Lake argues her voting legislation will catch errors early. “If the math isn’t right upfront, it’s pretty difficult to correct it at the end,” said Kiffmeyer, speaking at a Capitol press today (Wednesday, Jan. 26). Kiffmeyer, as Republicans have for years, wants voting in Minnesota to require a Photo ID. But Kiffmeyer is also proposing the use of a so-called “electronic roster” system, an approach that could allow voters to merely swipe their driver’s license or state identify cards, sign and vote. She envisions the electronic system statewide — some 1200 precincts with fewer than 100 voters would be exempt. Read More
NY: Decision near in ballot fraud probe - Times Union
A Rensselaer County grand jury ended nearly seven hours of deliberation Wednesday in its probe of alleged absentee ballot fraud by nine city Democrats in the 2009 city primary election. The grand jury was behind closed doors Wednesday without any witnesses seen entering to testify. Special Prosecutor Trey Smith declined to comment about the investigation after he left the grand jury room at the Rensselaer County Court House late Wednesday afternoon. Read More
OH: Provisional ballot procedures could change - Hudsonhubtimes.com
Democrats in the Ohio House hope to change the way county elections boards decide whether to count certain provisional ballots. Rep. Alicia Reece, from Cincinnati, plans to offer legislation following an incident in her home district in which voters arrived at the correct polling location but were given ballots for the wrong precinct by poll workers. One candidate in a juvenile court race affected by the situation is leading the other by about 20 votes, with courts disagreeing on whether to count several hundred additional provisional ballots. "It has been a major issue in Hamilton County these past few weeks on what we look upon as an election nightmare... ," Reece told reporters during a press conference at the Statehouse Jan. 19. Read More
SC: House OKs IDs to vote - S.C. Politics - TheState.com
Buoyed by overwhelming Republican support, House lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday requiring voters to present a South Carolina driver’s license, a passport or a new state photo ID at the polls. If it becomes law, the bill will cost the State Election Commission $720,000 in its first year. Republicans say the bill, which passed 74-45 and now heads to the GOP-controlled state Senate, will protect against voter fraud.“The bill before you today is to preserve the integrity of our election system in South Carolina,” said state Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Horry, the bill’s primary sponsor. “We arrive at it by requiring that each voter do no less than what a voter does when they go to Walgreens to buy a bottle of Dimetapp. They present a driver’s license.” Wednesday’s vote marks the second consecutive year that a voter ID bill has passed the House. Last year, the issue died in the Senate. Democrats unsuccessfully argued the bill is an unnecessary expense to taxpayers — saying there is no evidence of voter fraud in the state — and a waste of precious, legislative time that would be better spent addressing the state’s financial woes. South Carolina is facing an $829 million funding shortfall for its budget year that starts July 1. Read More
TX: Few South Texas elections officials back ID plan - San Antonio Express-News
Mail-in ballots are viewed as more of a concern when it comes to potential fraud.
In South Texas, the region with the richest tradition of voter fraud in the state, few election officials believe a new law requiring all voters to have photo identification will do much to curb voting chicanery. The Texas Senate late Wednesday passed the controversial voter ID bill on a 19-11 vote, after more than 40 amendments were proposed — mostly by Democrats — and almost six hours of debate. While the outcome wasn't in doubt, Democrats launched a fierce campaign against the measure, saying it could prevent minority, elderly and more transient voters such as college students from voting. Read More
WI: Changes to voter ID bill suggested - JSOnline
The state's chief election officer recommended changes Wednesday to a bill that would require voters to show photo IDs at the polls, including allowing student IDs and passports to be used for voting. Key senators said they hadn't decided whether to make those changes. The recommendations by Kevin Kennedy, director of the state Government Accountability Board, came at a seven-hour public hearing in which proponents said the photo ID requirement would restore confidence in the election system and detractors said it would disenfranchise thousands of voters. The bill - a top priority in the Republican-run Legislature - would give Wisconsin the strictest photo ID requirement in the country, said David Canon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist. Read More
WY: Voter registration glitch checked - The Casper Journal
Renea Vitto, the Natrona County Clerk, is investigating a possible glitch in the computer software being used for Wyoming’s statewide voter registration system, which is causing some voters to be improperly notified that they have to renew their registration. The problem came to light recently after notices were set to voters in Natrona County whose names weren’t checked in the precinct poll books during last November’s election, indicating they didn’t vote. (It’s standard policy to update voter lists after each general election.) As it turns out, however, some of those who received notices did vote, causing them to also wonder whether their ballots were counted. “The voter’s vote did count,” Vitto said, explaining ballots are handled and counted separately from registration. “The ballots are never correlated to a name. It’s a voter registration issue.” Vitto said the problem seems to be tied to whether a person made a change at the polling place, such as switching parties or giving a new address. While such a change shouldn’t cause a nonvoting notice to be sent, that’s apparently what happened in some cases. Read More
National
Voter ID laws carry hefty price tag for cash-strapped states - Facing South
As state legislatures have opened for business over the last week, GOP lawmakers have begun not by pushing bills focused on jobs, but for measures that would require citizens to show photo identification while voting -- laws which, among other controversial features, will end up costing states tens of millions of dollars to implement. GOP leaders have introduced voter ID bills or plan to in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. In Texas -- which faces a budget shortfall of over $10 billion -- Gov. Rick Perry (R) went so far as to declare voter ID a legislative "emergency" to fast-track the bill. All the bills have sparked controversy. For one, there's scant evidence that voter impersonation at the polls -- the one kind of fraud that ID laws address -- is a big problem. The bills are also viewed by Democrats and voting rights advocates as deeply partisan, given studies that show the elderly, African-Americans, Hispanics/Latinos and other constituencies are most likely to not have the needed ID cards. Read More
Internet Voting Watch
Is online voting in the cards? | The Detroit News
Despite a steady call for better ballot access, security concerns are keeping online voting from universal acceptance. "Imagine what could happen if a career criminal hacker started working on this," said University of Michigan computer science professor J. Alex Halderman. "There are just too many doors in a Web-based system to secure. Nonetheless, and even with a slew of documented problems with electronic voting at traditional polling locations, there's a growing push from voters for even more convenient solutions, including voting online. Halderman, however, advises caution. A team of U-M researchers proved that just because it's possible to book an airline ticket or access a bank account online, voting online is a reality that's at least a decade or more off. Read More
International
India: Poll panel to give e-voting second shot - The Times of India
The State Election Commission (SEC) aims to make e-voting a big success in the elections to newly-formed Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) slated in April-end. The SEC got extremely poor response for its Rs 34-crore e-voting experiment in polls to six municipal corporations in October 2010. Out of 86.16 lakh registered voters, just 124 e-voted in the polls to Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara civic bodies. Read More
Philippines: Use of Precinct Count Optical Scan machines in ARMM poll OK'd | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online
The automated counting machines credited for the speedy results in last year’s national elections have won the nod of an election advisory council for use in the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The multi-sector Commission on Election Advisory Council (CAC) has given its imprimatur on the use of the precinct count optical scan or PCOS machines for the Aug. 8 ARMM polls, in a sign of confidence to the integrity of the machines. Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNews
Subscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
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The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
AK election review under way; MN lawmaker extolls e-pollbooks
AK: APNewsBreak: Election review could be done soon: AP Alaska | adn.com
An internal review of the 2010 election that left Alaska's historic U.S. Senate race in limbo for nearly two months should be mostly completed within 45 days, Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell said Tuesday. Read More
CO: Ranked Voting Method Request for Written Comments
The Colorado Secretary of State is developing a report that will be provided to the 2011 Colorado General Assembly on issues relating to conducting elections using ranked voting methods. We want to thank you again for submitting your comments and information regarding ranked voting. We have posted copies of your submissions online at the Secretary of State website. Read More
CT: CO Chain-of-Custody: Rest assured, we would never see this in Connecticut | CTVotersCount.org
We have no law or chain-of-custody requirement similar to the video requirement in Colorado. We have no standards for the facilities where ballots are stored. In most Connecticut municipalities it is easy for one official, to obtain and use a single key, to access ballots alone, undetected, for hours at a time. Ballots are stored in hallways, schools, closets, under desks, and abandoned classrooms. Read More
IL: The BRAD BLOG : Memo to Rahm: 'Appear On the Ballot' May be Somewhat Misleading in Chicago
Over the years, we've covered specific failures of the very same Sequoia e-voting systems that are used in Chicago and elsewhere across the country, as well as the remarkable duplicity of the company's top officials. So it seems like this would be a good moment to remind folks of the most disturbing Sequoia/Chicago related incidents. Read More
IL: Emanuel Ballot Appeal to Be Heard by Illinois Supreme Court - Businessweek
Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, won an expedited review by the Illinois Supreme Court of his disqualification from Chicago’s Feb. 22 mayoral election. Read More
MA: Pittsfield to redraw voting precincts - Berkshire Eagle Online
City officials have begun the process of "re-precincting," which requires Massachusetts communities with 6,200 or more inhabitants to ensure each precinct has nearly an equal number of residents based on the 2010 federal census. Read More
MN: GOP offers major overhaul to Minnesota’s voting system | Minnesota Independent: News. Politics. Media.
Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer of Big Lake and Sen. Warren Limmer of Maple Grove unveiled the Republican plan to overhaul the state’s voting system at a press conference on Wednesday. Among the proposed changes are the elimination of vouching, implementation of a photo identification system, a ban on health care workers assisting voters in the booth, and massive changes to the recount process. Most of the changes reflect complaints by the conservative group Minnesota Majority, which Kiffmeyer ran several years ago. Read More
MN: Kiffmeyer presents voting reform legislation | Hometown Source
Kiffmeyer, as Republicans have for years, wants voting in Minnesota to require a Photo ID.
South Carolina House Republicans on Wednesday pushed through a measure requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, as Democrats blasted them for spending money on what they called voter suppression while the state faces a deficit. Read More
TN: GOP wants 2 Republican members of Election Commission out on The Murfreesboro Post
The Rutherford County Republican Party Executive Committee voted Tuesday night asking two Republican members of the Election Commission and the newly appointed administrator of elections to resign thier posts. Read More
TX: Handgun licenses added to voter ID bill | Postcards
By a 30-0 vote, senators just added wording adding a state photo ID handgun license to a driver’s license, passport and military ID to the types of cards that can be used to verify identity before voters can cast their ballots. Read More
TX: Texas lawmakers plow through amendments to voter ID bill | Texas Legislature | News from...
State senators on Wednesday began working their way through three dozen amendments on a controversial voter identification bill that opponents acknowledged that they had little hope of stopping. Read More
TX: Voter ID amendments disclosed | Postcards
As the Texas Senate gets ready to decide whether to debate final passage of the controversial, GOP-supported voter ID bill, either this afternoon or late tonight, the first detail about 26 possible amendments is just coming out. Read More
WI: Is the proof in the picture? | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin
Proposed legislation to require citizens to show photo identification each time they vote is either a good idea or a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist, say local poll workers. Read More
WI: State elections chief urges changes to ID voting proposal - JSOnline
The state's chief election officer recommended key changes Wednesday to a bill that would require voters to show photo ID at the polls, including allowing student IDs and passports to be used for voting. Read More
WI: Hearing on ID bill held by State Senate Transportation Committee | Pierce County Herald | Ellsworth, Wisconsin
Wisconsinites will have their say today on a bill to make them show photo ID’s in order to vote. Read More
WI: GOP-backed photo ID requirement draws criticism
Wisconsin lawmakers were urged Wednesday to change a proposal requiring voters show photo identification before casting ballots to ensure legitimate voters aren't turned away, strengthen the law's constitutionality and reduce implementation costs. Read More
Internet Voting Watch
Europe’s security reinforced by Europe-U.S. cooperation
The secretary of state said that she is grateful that Estonia is a dependable, creative and close ally of the United States. “In the 20 years since Estonia’s independence, the country has become a successful model for others, with its Internet voting, cyber innovations, commitment to good governance, the rule of law, and fiscal responsibility,” said Clinton. Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNewsSubscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
Please send article suggestions to votingnews@verifiedvoting.org.
=============================================The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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-vnDisclaimer: 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.
An internal review of the 2010 election that left Alaska's historic U.S. Senate race in limbo for nearly two months should be mostly completed within 45 days, Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell said Tuesday. Read More
CO: Ranked Voting Method Request for Written Comments
The Colorado Secretary of State is developing a report that will be provided to the 2011 Colorado General Assembly on issues relating to conducting elections using ranked voting methods. We want to thank you again for submitting your comments and information regarding ranked voting. We have posted copies of your submissions online at the Secretary of State website. Read More
CT: CO Chain-of-Custody: Rest assured, we would never see this in Connecticut | CTVotersCount.org
We have no law or chain-of-custody requirement similar to the video requirement in Colorado. We have no standards for the facilities where ballots are stored. In most Connecticut municipalities it is easy for one official, to obtain and use a single key, to access ballots alone, undetected, for hours at a time. Ballots are stored in hallways, schools, closets, under desks, and abandoned classrooms. Read More
IL: The BRAD BLOG : Memo to Rahm: 'Appear On the Ballot' May be Somewhat Misleading in Chicago
Over the years, we've covered specific failures of the very same Sequoia e-voting systems that are used in Chicago and elsewhere across the country, as well as the remarkable duplicity of the company's top officials. So it seems like this would be a good moment to remind folks of the most disturbing Sequoia/Chicago related incidents. Read More
IL: Emanuel Ballot Appeal to Be Heard by Illinois Supreme Court - Businessweek
Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, won an expedited review by the Illinois Supreme Court of his disqualification from Chicago’s Feb. 22 mayoral election. Read More
MA: Pittsfield to redraw voting precincts - Berkshire Eagle Online
City officials have begun the process of "re-precincting," which requires Massachusetts communities with 6,200 or more inhabitants to ensure each precinct has nearly an equal number of residents based on the 2010 federal census. Read More
MN: GOP offers major overhaul to Minnesota’s voting system | Minnesota Independent: News. Politics. Media.
Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer of Big Lake and Sen. Warren Limmer of Maple Grove unveiled the Republican plan to overhaul the state’s voting system at a press conference on Wednesday. Among the proposed changes are the elimination of vouching, implementation of a photo identification system, a ban on health care workers assisting voters in the booth, and massive changes to the recount process. Most of the changes reflect complaints by the conservative group Minnesota Majority, which Kiffmeyer ran several years ago. Read More
MN: Kiffmeyer presents voting reform legislation | Hometown Source
Kiffmeyer, as Republicans have for years, wants voting in Minnesota to require a Photo ID.
But Kiffmeyer is also proposing the use of a so-called “electronic roster” system, an approach that could allow voters to merely swipe their driver’s license or state identify cards, sign and vote. Read More
MN: GOP ramps up push for photo ID at Minn. polls | The Austin Daily Herald
Republican legislators pushed ahead Wednesday with their effort to make voters present photo identification at the polls, hoping to use their new political muscle to achieve a long-held election law goal. Read More
MN: Power Line - Moving Against Voter Fraud
It is unclear why any legitimate voters would be "blocked out," since the state will make identification available for free to anyone who does not have a driver's license or other form of identification. Read More
NY: Hand count votes to reduce errors - Times Union
Columbia County voters have no question about who won last Nov. 3 because, before the election, we commissioners agreed that we would hand count every ballot. Several recent elections have proven tight, with deciding margins of less than 1 percent. Read More
South Carolina House Republicans on Wednesday pushed through a measure requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, as Democrats blasted them for spending money on what they called voter suppression while the state faces a deficit. Read More
TN: GOP wants 2 Republican members of Election Commission out on The Murfreesboro Post
The Rutherford County Republican Party Executive Committee voted Tuesday night asking two Republican members of the Election Commission and the newly appointed administrator of elections to resign thier posts. Read More
TX: Handgun licenses added to voter ID bill | Postcards
By a 30-0 vote, senators just added wording adding a state photo ID handgun license to a driver’s license, passport and military ID to the types of cards that can be used to verify identity before voters can cast their ballots. Read More
TX: Texas lawmakers plow through amendments to voter ID bill | Texas Legislature | News from...
State senators on Wednesday began working their way through three dozen amendments on a controversial voter identification bill that opponents acknowledged that they had little hope of stopping. Read More
TX: Voter ID amendments disclosed | Postcards
As the Texas Senate gets ready to decide whether to debate final passage of the controversial, GOP-supported voter ID bill, either this afternoon or late tonight, the first detail about 26 possible amendments is just coming out. Read More
WI: Is the proof in the picture? | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin
Proposed legislation to require citizens to show photo identification each time they vote is either a good idea or a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist, say local poll workers. Read More
WI: State elections chief urges changes to ID voting proposal - JSOnline
The state's chief election officer recommended key changes Wednesday to a bill that would require voters to show photo ID at the polls, including allowing student IDs and passports to be used for voting. Read More
WI: Hearing on ID bill held by State Senate Transportation Committee | Pierce County Herald | Ellsworth, Wisconsin
Wisconsinites will have their say today on a bill to make them show photo ID’s in order to vote. Read More
WI: GOP-backed photo ID requirement draws criticism
Wisconsin lawmakers were urged Wednesday to change a proposal requiring voters show photo identification before casting ballots to ensure legitimate voters aren't turned away, strengthen the law's constitutionality and reduce implementation costs. Read More
Internet Voting Watch
Europe’s security reinforced by Europe-U.S. cooperation
The secretary of state said that she is grateful that Estonia is a dependable, creative and close ally of the United States. “In the 20 years since Estonia’s independence, the country has become a successful model for others, with its Internet voting, cyber innovations, commitment to good governance, the rule of law, and fiscal responsibility,” said Clinton. Read More
Voting News archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/Also at Twitter http://twitter.com/VotingNewsSubscribe to Voting News at this link: http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
Please send article suggestions to votingnews@verifiedvoting.org.
=============================================The Voting News is a free service made possible by the 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-vnDisclaimer: 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.
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