The Voting News Daily: NYT urges caution on Internet voting; voter ID bills debated; MD voting system costs debated

The New York Times weighs in on Internet voting with a strong editorial, legislatures in South Carolina, Virginia, and Utah consider voter ID legislation, and Maryland’s transition to optical scan voting generates debate over cost estimates.

This and more in today’s Voting News below…

AZ: New technology planned for poll consolidation
http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=34762

GA: Election suit appeal fails
http://www.times-georgian.com/view/full_story/5665479/article-Election-suit-appeal-fails?instance=west_ga_news

IL: State Election Officials: No Red Flags in Rock Island County
http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=11897058
Illinois State Board of Elections officials overseeing Thursday’s set-up and testing of the election equipment for Tuesday’s primary in Rock Island County found no red flags.

IL: RI County officials called before grand jury
http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_375aeb8e-0afe-11df-a73d-001cc4c03286.html

KY: Former Perry circuit clerk pleads guilty in vote-buying scheme
http://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/1115750.html
A former circuit clerk in Perry County pleaded guilty Thursday to taking part in vote buying in November 2008.

MD: State elections head says new voting system costly, not effective
http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_028125950.html
A House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing Wednesday in Annapolis turned out to be an opportunity for state election officials to explain how the 2010 election will proceed.

MI: Grand Rapids clerk wants to cut number of precincts to save money
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/01/grand_rapids_clerk_wants_to_cu.html

MN: Polling place accessibility funds are awarded
http://www.hometownsource.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12236:polling-place-accessibility-federal-funds-are-awarded&catid=13:capitol-news&Itemid=29

NM: Bill would resolve years-old question: Who has to maintain voting machines
http://newmexicoindependent.com/45343/bill-would-resolve-years-old-question-who-owns-voting-machines
January 27, 2010 – The state would be responsible for maintaining the state’s more than 1,000 voting tabulators if a Senate bill introduced this session becomes law.

NY: New voting machines to debut in September
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20406357&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574908&rfi=6
When you go to the polls for the September primaries the old Shoup 3.2 mechanical voting machine, used in city polling places for about half a century, will be gone, replaced by Elections Systems & Software’s DS200 Scanner and the AutoMark Ballot Marking Device.

SC: SC senators reach deal on photo ID requirement
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11897668
Legislators have worked out a compromise on a bill requiring South Carolina voters to show photo IDs before they cast a ballot.

SC: Compromise reached on voter ID bill
http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/1132521.html

SC: SC photo ID voting could affect 178,000 voters
http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/1129757.html

UT: House shoots down Medicare card as voter ID
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14287179
A sharply divided Utah House rejected a bill Thursday that would have allowed voters to show a Medicare card as identification at the polls in November.

VA: Senate Committee Vote Kills Obenshain’s Voter ID Bill
http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/82814897.html
January 27, 2010 – On Wednesday, Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) questioned the partisan effort of the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections to act to ensure the continued integrity of the electoral process in Virginia.

National: Internet Voting, Still in Beta [editorial]
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/opinion/28thu4.html
Internet voting is in its infancy, and still far too unreliable, but states are starting to allow it and the trend is accelerating because of a new federal law that requires greater efforts to help military and other overseas voters cast ballots.

International

Philippines: Congress may ask SC to stop full poll automation
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/01/28/10/congress-may-ask-sc-stop-full-poll-automation

[Note: The Philippines’ transition to optical scan voting generates more daily coverage than is reasonable to index in this digest.

Editorials: Internet Voting, Still in Beta | New York Times

Internet voting is in its infancy, and still far too unreliable, but states are starting to allow it and the trend is accelerating because of a new federal law that requires greater efforts to help military and other overseas voters cast ballots. Men and women in uniform must have a fair opportunity to vote, but allowing online voting in its current state could open elections up to vote theft and other mischief. It is often hard for military voters to get ballots, and because of distance and unreliable mail service, it can be difficult or impossible for them to meet election deadlines. A year ago, the Pew Center on the States found that more than one-third of states do not provide military voters stationed abroad with enough time to vote, or are at high risk of not providing enough time. To address this problem, the new Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act requires states in most cases to get ballots to military and overseas voters well in advance of regularly scheduled federal elections.