The Voting News Daily: 7/28 Voting News. Aspen election to get independent audit, an election office’s money woes, online registration, vote renting and illegal voting
Ballots so private you can’t audit them: Colorado Voting Activist Harvie Brancomb leads a team conducting an independent audit of Aspen’s recent instant runoff voting election. The town’s attorney has denied a public info request to obtain the 2,600 ballots, citing that the ballots are “private”. It is ironic that ballots have to be stored for 22 months after federal elections or 6 months otherwise, but then destroyed and never available as public records for the public to review.
Kansas citizens can register to vote online now. Electronic elections are becoming too costly: A Birmingham election office can’t afford to deliver voting machines to the polls. (This is becoming more common, as we saw in Utah some counties switching to paper ballots to save money). Paper verses electronic voting issue went to a top court in India. Vote Renting in Iraq. Restoring ex felons’ voting rights.
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AL. Birmingham employees will deliver voting machines
County has no funds for the task
City of Birmingham employees will deliver voting machines to polling places for next month’s municipal elections because Jefferson County cannot afford to perform many of its usual election-related duties, officials from both governments said Monday.
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/metro.ssf?/base/news/1248768915301350.xml&coll=2
CO. Aspen’s May election under review
Independent group conducting audit of Instant Runoff Voting results
ASPEN — A small group of Instant Runoff Voting junkies plan to do an independent review of Aspen’s May election…Part of that information includes Marks’ Colorado Open Record Act request for all, or a portion of, the 2,600 ballots casts by Aspen voters….City attorney John Worcester has denied that request, arguing that voters’ ballots should be private, per the city’s home rule charter and the council’s intent to keep them from public review.
Branscomb told the council Tuesday that he plans to challenge that position because in order to do a full audit of the election, his team must start from the beginning, which are the paper ballots. Individuals’ votes ought to be checked against how the scanning machines interpreted them, he argues.
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20090727/NEWS/907279983/1058
KS. Online voter registration launched in Kansas
Kansas officials have created an online system to help residents register to vote from the convenience of their computers.
The system links the secretary of state’s voter registration process with the Department of Revenue’s driver’s license database. Residents submit their application, which is verified with information already in the state system.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/1350675.html
NY. Removed From Ballot — For a Typo?
July 25, 2009 New York City’s election laws are notoriously unfair, and few events make that point as well as what happened on Thursday to City Councilman Bill de Blasio…Mr. de Blasio’s name was removed from the Democratic Party line on the ballot by the New York City Board of Elections. The reason? A cover page on his packet of signatures said that there were 131 folders when there were actually 132.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/opinion/25sat2.html?_r=2&emc=eta1
NY. UPDATE. de Blasio Back On The Ballot
This just in from the city Board of Elections: Councilman Bill de Blasio has been restored to the ballot in the public advocate race.