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

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

MN: News : Minn. bill asking for voter ID (Wahpeton, ND and Breckenridge, Minn.)

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


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