Yearly Archives: 2010

The Voting News Daily: Risk limit audits for CA? Judge halts MI voter purge. Benton TN purge contd.

California bill to pilot risk limiting audits has bi partisan support…Should bounty on party registrations be illegal?…Proposal to make voting mandatory riles up tiny Ridgway,CO…Maryland now has $ to run fall elections…Judge’s ruling stops voter purge programs that illegally purge about 77K eligible Michigan voters a year… GOP to file suit for N.Y. 29th special election…Almost 1 in 5 of Benton Co. TN voters told their voter registration was invalid…US Chamber vows to fight Corp campaign cash reform…Puerto Rico considers DRE/touchscreens for 2010…Concerned Filipinos push for manual counting…Iraq post election candidate purge may change results…

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

AZ: May 18 polling places may be consolidated
http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=80248
Ana Wayman-Trujillo, the Yavapai County recorder, reminds voters that polling places may be consolidated for the May 18 election

CA: California Assembly committee endorses UC Berkeley statistician’s election auditing method (AB 2023 risk limiting election audit pilot hearing in June)
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2010/04/26_canvass.shtml
BERKELEY — One day last November, after the 2009 elections, Philip Stark found himself in the back room of the Yolo County Administration Building doing something statisticians seldom do – testing a theory in the real world.
…
Stark’s technique passed the test and five others, impressing California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, the state’s chief elections officer, and spurring her to sponsor a bill, AB 2023, to conduct in 2011 a statewide experiment of this kind of “risk-limiting audit.”

CO: Proposal to make voting mandatory riles up tiny Ridgway
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14958536
The Town Council agreed to put the matter on the ballot for a recent town election as a nonbinding opinion question

CO: Colorado bill would require business campaign backers to register
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/04/26/daily10.html

CT: Should Bounty On Party Registrations Be Illegal?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3121 State House Majority Leader Denise Merrill (D-Mansfield, Chaplin) said Monday that she would immediately seek legislation banning bounties or other payments in exchange for the registration of new voters.

CT: Bill would allow towns to reduce polling places for primaries: cost-cutting vs. potential confusion http://www.ctmirror.org/story/5604/number-polls-coming-primary-elections-may-be-reduced-save-money

FL: VOTER PROTECTIONS NEWSLETTER VOLUME 5 ISSUE 3
http://www.advancementproject.org/news/newsletters/april-26-2010/florida
Jacksonville – Traci Collier, Director of Education at the Duval County Supervisor of Elections office, has requested 3,000 additional copies of Advancement Project’s “10 Things Duval County Poll Workers Should Know” palm cards.

HI: Ballots Go Out Next Week (first all mail election)
http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Ballots-Go-Out-Next-Week/dlEkDdivU0uQio3vyK6coQ.cspx
IL: Too many voter registration cards* (Kaine County)
http://www.kcchronicle.com/blogs/entries/2010/04/26/73223023/index.xml
I just received in the mail another voter registration card that is only six months older than the last one I received in October 2009. The new one is dated March 2010.

IN: Snafu puts new St. John voters on island *
RESIDENTS OF ANNEXED AREAS CAN’T CAST PRIMARY BALLOTS IN TOWN BECAUSE OF MIX-UP
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/article_be17f3ad-4693-5085-991d-dc383849e4c5.html

KY: Sentences cut for Clay vote-buying testimony
Prosecutors in Clay case sought reductions for five who cooperated
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/04/24/1236807/federal-judge-reduces-sentences.html

MD: Money restored, fall elections can go on
http://www.marylandreporter.com/page550410.aspx
A last-minute budget move helped secure enough cash for Maryland’s November election, nearly $10 million of which had been previously uncertain.

MI: VOTER PROTECTIONS NEWSLETTER VOLUME 5 ISSUE 3
http://www.advancementproject.org/news/newsletters/april-26-2010/michigan

The Voting News Daily: GA AG wont sue over citizenship checks. Lucas Co OH poll workers intimidated. Internet vote comments due 4-30

Georgia AG refuses to file suit over voter citizenship checks…Provision to kill Home Rule from Florida law was defeated in legislature. This protects hard fought, highly touted Sarasota County chartered election audits…About 450 Republicans in Clermont County will have to re-vote…Lucas Co. Ohio BOE investigating poll worker intimidation…The DISCLOSE Act-the legislative response to Citizens United and what’s next…New deadline for comments on UOCAVA Pilot Program Testing Requirements is April 30, 2010…

The Voting News Daily: AZ ease of cheating. Map of US internet voting. Philippines ghost polling centers exposed

If fraud or error occurs in Arizona elections, there’s very little that can be done: “The ease-of-cheating problem becomes magnified when combined with the impossibility of challenging any computerized rigged election in Arizona.” ~ Bill Risner, chair of advocacy group AUDIT AZ…Aspen,CO Election Commission to review May 2009 election complaints in May 2010…SC House to debate voter id…Voting vendor Smartmatic exposes Philippines ghost polling centers – precincts listed but that do not exist…Internet voting continues to spread in Canadian munis…Verified Voting maps state usage of i-voting…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AZ: Guest Opinion. The elections-integrity fight isn’t about the RTA vote; it’s about future rigged elections
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/guest-opinion/Content?oid=1931618
Court testimony from several Pima County Elections Department workers established that our county’s computer operator regularly took home copies of election data during elections.

AZ: Clean elections may go to ballot
http://www.yumasun.com/news/ballot-57937-clean-elections.html
PHOENIX — Arizona voters are likely going to get a chance to decide if they want to keep public funding of elections

AZ: Arizona House OKs Bill To Check Candidates’ Citizenship (goes to senate next)
http://www.kwtx.com/news/headlines/91830889.html?ref=889
A bill that passed in the Arizona House would require President Barack Obama and any other candidate to produce a birth certificate to qualify for the state’s election ballot.

CA: DA to team with Secretary of State on voter registration probe
http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2010/04/22/da-to-team-with-secretary-of-state-on-voter-registration-probe/55723/

CA: Let voters decide on election system, committee says
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14934230?nclick_check=1
San Mateo County voters should get another chance to choose whether they want to start electing supervisors by district rather than at large, the county’s charter review committee said Wednesday.

CO: Provocative bill to take Colorado to a universal mail-in ballot will not be introduced http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/provocative-bill-to-take-colorado-to.html

CO: Commission sets deadline for election complaints
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/140270
— Keys in the ballot box. The ballot boxes in the city clerk’s office used for absentee voting, where for two weeks prior to the election citizens could come in and cast their ballots, were observed with keys inserted into a lock.

CO: Harvie Branscomb comments on news about Aspen Election Commission
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/harvies-comments-on-aspen-daily-news.html …The lock the key was left in unlocks a small door on the ballot box that allows access to two buttons that if simultaneously pressed will activate the override function that causes the voting machine to accept any ballot with any …

IN: Names left off Carroll ballots *
http://www.newsbug.info/articles/2010/04/22/monticello
_herald_journal/local_news/doc4bcd206388323919953853.txt
http://bit.ly/cH5Xba A Carroll County election snafu was caught in time to be corrected and, luckily, only eight ballots will have to be recast.
…
“The clerk’s office did not give the right information to the election vendor to produce our names on the ballot.”

MI: Granholm signs absentee ballot bill for military personnel
http://www.detnews.com/article/20100422/METRO/4220456/1361/Granholm-signs-absentee-ballot-bill-for-military-personnel
The measures, recently approved by unanimous votes in the Legislature, permit voters living out of the country to download absentee ballots via electronic mail and then mail them back.

NC: State employees group petitioning to put North Carolina First Party on the ballot
http://www.examiner.com/x-31749-Raleigh-Libertarian-Examiner~y2010m4d22-State-employees-group-petitioning-to-put-North-Carolina-First-Party-on-the-ballot
…“They may have the necessary financial resources to get the approximately 120,000 raw signatures they will need to meet North Carolina’s signature requirement.”

The Voting News Daily: AZ may repeal clean elections. TX AG probe Dallas mail ballot fraud. Citizens United bill gains support

AZ House panel OKs Clean Elections repeal…Students registered to vote in Alamance County run into trouble at polling stations…TN Rep Odom calls for investigation into Benton Co voter purge: “I know firsthand that some of these voters have been registered to vote in Tennessee for more than 48 years,” wrote Rep. Odom… TX Atty Gen to investigate Dallas Co absentee ballot fraud ..In Defense of Caroline Hunter…Fed campaign finance bill to address Citizens United gains bi partisan support…the Disappearing Poll Workers…Internet voting on the rise in Canadian municipalities….

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AZ: House panel OKs Clean Elections repeal
http://azcapitoltimes.com/blog/2010/04/21/house-panel-oks-clean-elections-repeal/
The effort to end public campaign financing is backed primarily by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Government for Arizona’s Second Century, the lobbying arm of the O’Connor House Project, a group spearheaded by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

CO: City proposes task force for November IRV vote
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/140257

CO: How will Aspen be asked to vote on how Aspen votes?
Commission charged with creating scenarios to retain, revise or replace IRV
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100421/
NEWS/100429970/1077&ParentProfile=1058
http://bit.ly/9zD949

CO: For a return to traditional elections (LTE)
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/140250
…Ballots are found in the trash in post offices. Can we really expect that signatures can be absolutely verified?

GUAM: Law limits use of electronic voting terminals
http://www.kuam.com/Global/story.asp?S=12345476

IA: Superviser candidate challenges uncounted absentee ballot
http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=280139
Julia Clark defeated Dwight Nelson by one vote, 54-53. A recount request by Nelson found an absentee ballot cast for Nelson was not allowed because the ballot was not initialed by the Platteville City Clerk’s office.

IN: Absentee ballots probed *
http://www.therepublic.com/view/local_story/
Absentee_ballots_probed_4_20_2010/
http://bit.ly/9tVh7v VERNON …On April 12, Republican sheriff’s candidate and former sheriff Earl Taggart reportedly dropped off two absentee ballots at Jennings County Election Office.

The envelopes Taggart delivered had been sealed and re-opened, and the ballots inside were voided, according to Jennings County Clerk Ron Bloemer.

MA: Town opts to have four polling places
http://www.salemnews.com/local/x993507234/Town-opts-to-have-four-polling-places
Selectmen have been grappling with a single polling location after the town consolidated its eight precincts’ polls to Danvers High starting with the February 2008 Super Tuesday presidential primary.

NC: Students registered to vote in Alamance County run into trouble at polling stations
http://www.elon.edu/pendulum/Story.aspx?id=3733
…students who had moved housing assignments on campus were no longer able to vote. Early voting, which ends May 1, is the last chance for students to re-register who want to vote in the primary.
…
According to Harwell, many of the students who changed their registration to vote in Alamance County do not realize they have to update it every year.

NV: Independent American Party Senate Nominee Will Appeal Tea Party Ballot Access Ruling http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/04/21/independent-american-party-senate-nominee-will-appeal-tea-party-ballot-access-ruling/

PA: Philadelphia poll workers getting IOU’s
http://whyy.org/cms/news/uncategorized/2010/04/20/philadelphia-poll-workers-getting-ious/36276 The agency that runs elections in Philadelphia is having a hard time paying poll workers

TN: Tennessee: Odom calls for TBI to probe voter ‘purge’
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/apr/20/tennessee-odom-calls-tbi-probe-voter-purge/?breakingnews …Rep. Odom said he has been told 70,000 Memphis voters and 50,000 Nashville voters have been purged.

TX: Dallas County Judge: Texas Attorney General is investigating local voter fraud allegations (mail in ballots)
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/04/dallas-county-judge-texas-atto.html

The Voting News Daily: DC Voting Rights bill killed. New Albany MS vote buying scheme. NY violates Voting Rights Act Sec 5

Arapahoe County, CO man gets 12 mail-in ballots…Gun control proposal kills DC voting rights bill…Update on Clay Co KY vote buying scheme…New Albany, MS man sentenced in vote buying scheme, 7 others pled guilty, 7 await trial….NY State Board of Elections violates section 5 of the Voting Rights Act due to changes in overvote notification…TN Lawmakers Spar Over Benton County Voter Registry: “The new administrator of elections has gone back as far as 45 to 50 years, identified over 2,000 voters, and sent them a letter suggesting that somehow their voter registration is not in order.” ~ House Dem. Leader Gary Odom…Baghdad Recount Could Change Election Results, Raising Fears Of Violence…Paying our respects: Civil Rights Legend Dr. Dorothy I. Height Dies at 98..

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

CA: S.F. instant-runoff voting upheld
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/20/BAN41D1700.DTL
Seeborg agreed that the system gives less weight to some votes than others in selecting a winner but said it doesn’t violate voters’ rights.

CA: San Leandro, California, Will Use Instant Runoff Voting This Year
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/04/20/san-leandro-california-will-use-instant-runoff-voting-this-year/

CO: Man gets 12 mail-in ballots from Arapahoe County
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=137255&catid=339
…9NEWS took the question to the Arapahoe and Douglas County May Election Official Duane Tinsley. He says what you receive in the mail is determined by where you live.

Tinsley says there is an area that overlaps in jurisdiction and receives both water and sewer ballots. Ellis lives in one of those areas

CO: Vail Daily LTE: Registration deadline Teak Simonton,Eagle Co. Clerk & Recorder
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20100420/LETTER/
100429962/1022&ParentProfile=1065
http://tiny.cc/zlvq9 The point is that these two issues — fraud and registration deadlines — are separate, and one does not influence the other…

CT: Inadequate Election Day Registration Pilot Nixed
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3056

DC: House Dumps Bill Giving D.C. Vote in Congress
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/20/politics/main6414586.shtml
Voting Rights Bill’s Linkage to Gun Control Provision Apparently Derails Plans to Take Up Legislation

GA: Secretary of State Kemp Hails Latest Court Order Upholding Georgia’s Photo ID Law http://www.theweekly.com/news/2010/April/20/Photo_ID.html

KY: 3 get light sentences in Clay case, but judge says others won’t
Judge says 3 deserve break others won’t get
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/04/19/1230372/clay-county-school-employee-sentenced.html
LONDON — A judge gave sentencing breaks Monday to three men who helped in an investigation of vote-buying in Clay County but made clear that some prominent people convicted in the case can’t expect the same.

MS: New Albany man gets 5 years for conspiracy to commit voter fraud *
http://www.wreg.com/news/sns-ap-ms–voterfraud,0,3512446.story
He had pleaded guilty in 2008 to his role in an alleged vote-buying scheme. He was among 16 people arrested in the case involving 2007 elections.

So far, two defendants have been convicted by a jury and sentenced. Seven others have pleaded guilty, but are awaiting sentencing. The remaining seven are awaiting trial.

NC: Davidson County Board Of Election To Reconsider Protestors’ Affidavits
http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=140751&catid=57
The group is trying to keep Hege from running for Sheriff. Hege, a former Davidson County Sheriff, gave up his post when he pleaded guilty to Felony Obstruction of Justice six years ago. Under North Carolina law, a convicted felon can be elected as Sheriff without the ability to carry a firearm.

The Voting News Daily: Philly Enq: Electronic voting can be foiled. Voters should voice ire over Dents, countys actions

Corporations in Democracy: “…Proposition 16 on California’s June ballot was “written and bankrolled by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for the benefit of PG&E.” ~ George Skelton of LA Times. Anchorage split precinct balloting mixup affects 160 votes…No one tells Sarasota Election Sup Kathy Dent what to do? …Montgomery Co KY switching to paper ballots in time for the primary election May 18. “That way there is no doubt about how a ballot was cast and who won or lost,” said Joe Harp of Harp Election Services in Lexington…Pot calling kettle black? “Electronic polling can be foiled.” writes the Philadelphia Inquirer about Israel’s e-voting plan. The Inquirer should know since much of PA has paperless e-voting….

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

AK: Traini leads Clary in final election results*
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=12325208
The city clerk’s office announced more vote-counting mistakes in the race Friday,… On April 7 the clerk found 160 votes had been improperly cast for the Midtown race in a split precinct at the Anchorage Senior Center.

CA: “Plugging in a Monopoly”
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015735.html
George Skelton’s LA Times column begins: “The most important thing to know about Proposition 16 on California’s June ballot is that it was written and bankrolled by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for the benefit of PG&E.”

CA: Third Time a Charm for Ranked Choice Voting?
http://www.sanleandrobytes.com/archives/010497.html
…San Leandro City Council…will attempt for a third time to approve an RCV ordinance at its April 19, 2010, meeting.

FL: Voters should voice ire over Dent’s, county’s actions
http://pelicanpress.org/content/2004_1.php
It was unconscionable that the Sarasota County supervisor of elections made plans to sue the county and the state because she doesn’t want to comply with a charter amendment voters approved to require extra audits of election returns.

With that threat, Kathy Dent might as well have found herself a big stool, climbed atop it at Five Points with a megaphone and proclaimed for all to hear, “No one tells me what to do! No one!”

FL: SB900 contains no pre-emption language giving the state power to govern all procedures and processes regarding elections
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/electionreform/message/13371

FL: Lawsuit settlement to lead to bilingual ballots in 2012
Volusia County settles federal suit for nearly $100,000
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-04-16/news/os-lawsuit-settlement-bilingual-ballot-20100416_1_bilingual-ballots-puerto-rican-residents-spanish-language-assistance

FL: Loser of Haines City Commission Election Alethea Pugh Files Lawsuit, Claims Fraud
http://www.theledger.com/article/20100416/NEWS/4165041/1410?Title=Loser-of-Haines-City-Commission-Election-Alethea-Pugh-Files-Lawsuit-Claims-Fraud
But the lawsuit charges West or his campaign workers “secured enough absentee ballots through fraudulent procedures to change the results of the elections which would otherwise have been won by Pugh.”

FL: U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Florida Case on Petitioning at the Polls
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/04/19/u-s-supreme-court-refuses-to-hear-florida-case-on-petitioning-at-the-polls/

IL: Thanks to a Great Staff (Champaign Co IL Clerk running un-opposed)
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/04/19/thanks-to-a-great-staff/

IN: Huntington Clerk didn’t commit fraud
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/huntington-clerk-investigated-for-fraud
Felts was accused of altering a candidates paperwork, so he could meet the filing deadline. The election board determined there was no proof fraud occured.

KY: Paper ballots are back for upcoming primary election (Montgomery County)
http://www.msadvocate.com/morestory.aspx?storiesID=897
The move to paper ballots is a national movement to bring more accountability to the voting process.

The Voting News Daily: WVA 1st in military internet voting. Boise U internet election voided. DC voting rights. ACORN epitaph

A bill has been revived that would give District of Columbia representation in Congress…Will there or won’t there be a special election NY’s 29th?…The economy is causing cuts in elections in Tennessee…West Virginia will be first state to hold internet election for overseas military. What could possibly go wrong? Boise State University’s internet election was voided after a “glitch” resulted in 109 blank ballots. Boise can hold a new election but what happens when internet votes are lost in a state or federal election?……Epitaph for ACORN: Done In by Its Friends?

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CA: Citywide: Oakland council may reach compromise on campaign contributions, spending http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_14893761 Their rationale: With Oakland’s switch to ranked-choice voting, which precludes the need for separate runoff elections, the city is essentially folding two elections into one. They also argued candidates should be allowed to raise and spend more money to help educate voters on the new voting system.

CA: Officials begin shipping election ballots to military and overseas voters
http://www.simivalleyacorn.com/news/2010-04-16/Community/Officials_begin_shipping_election_ballots_to_milit.html
California military and overseas voters may use a Federal Post Card Application to register to vote and simultaneously request a vote-bymail ballot.

CA: UPDATE: 641 Votes Remain In Santa Clarita City Council Race
http://hometownstation.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19957:city-council-showdown-continues-as-exact-number-of-uncounted-votes-still-unknown&catid=26:local-news&Itemid=97

CA: More than 2,000 ballots still uncounted in Long Beach election
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_14891894
…With two incumbent write-in candidates, plus a third lesser known write-in candidate, ballot tallying was slow Tuesday night, but Herrera said the count was accurate and had few problems.

Herrera added that the slow pace at which results were posted was also due to his decision to check by hand every over-vote

CT: Columnist Calls for Elimination of the Secretary of the State
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3045

DC: Is Congress Getting Closer to Granting D.C. Voting Rights?
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20002733-503544.html
The bill changed dramatically when the Senate added an amendment to its D.C. Voting Rights bill sponsored by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) that would force the District of Columbia to weaken its gun control laws. It stated that the District of Columbia could not “unduly burden” residents from owning guns.
…Since the Senate passed the bill last year, House Democrats have lost a key Republican ally in Utah, Sen. Orrin Hatch, over a provision in the House bill that would make the new Utah congressman represent the entire state instead of allowing the Utah state government to draw a new district.

FL: Changes Proposed To Voting Precincts
Eleven Precincts Will Be Moved Or Combined
http://www.news4jax.com/news/23165984/detail.html

KY: Kentucky plan to amend campaign finance law dashed
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/2010/04/16/kentucky-plan-to-amend-campaign-finance-law-dashed/
added language to House Bill 152 — a routine elections bill — to increase the sums that candidates and political parties can collect; let the parties take money from corporations; and let legislators take donations from lobbyists

MA: Petitioners make last pitch before Town Meeting (finances prevent adoption of electronic voting)
http://www.wickedlocal.com/wayland/topstories/x998220748/Petitioners-make-last-pitch-before-Town-Meeting Finally, Alan Reiss, lead petitioner for Article 20 on electronic voting, made his presentation.
…
The Finance Committee voted unanimously against Article 20. For more information on this article go to “ www.electronicvoting.info

The Voting News Daily: Vendor certifies Aspen election. Does EAC really want comments on internet voting?

Outsourcing democracy – The voting vendor TrueBallot Inc certified Aspen Colorado’s May 5, 2009 election as “fair and accurate” on April 12, 2010 according to FOIA request…Jim Crow makes a comeback in Virginia…Voter Action charged the Election Assistance Commission with shortchanging comment period on Internet Voting. The EAC then quickly issued a “correction” adding a miserly 15 more days…Is it worth $1 M for special election to fill NY 29th seat for just a few months?…Jeremy Epstein to give talk in UK “Internet Voting: Threat or Menace”…Philipines optical scanners 10% failure rate….

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CO: TrueBallot certifies Aspen May 5, 2009 election “fair and accurate” on April 12, 2010
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/trueballot-certifies-aspen-may-5-2009.html The following was produced as a response to a Colorado Open Records request for the certification called for in the agreement between TrueBallot, Inc. and the City of Aspen.

CO: Online Voter Registration Now Available in Colorado
http://www.telluridewatch.com/view/full_story/7085118/article-Online-Voter-Registration-Now-Available-in-Colorado?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
“Colorado is one of only two states that allow voters to register online,” Nerlin says. “Democracy has never been more accessible.”

CT: Bysiewicz testifies in lawsuit against her own office, party
http://www.rep-am.com/news/elections/478349.txt

FL: Legislature considers a ‘poison pill’ to nullify citizen petitions
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/legislature-considers-a-poison-pill-to-nullify-citizen-petitions/1087460#
I suppose there is no point in saying that the Legislature is doing something stinky. It sort of goes without saying.

IA: Iowa Passes Corporate Governance Fixes to Citizens United
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015709.html

NM: County clerks review old voter registration cards
http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12319978
The clerks received the old forms this week from the secretary of state’s office. It’s not clear where the cards have been since 2008 or who decided to mail them to the clerks.

NY: Massa Mess – Can the 29th Afford an Election?
http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/Massa-Mess-Can-the-29th-Afford-an-Election/zd0-cj9ugk6Ik304Qk-5Cg.cspx
A special election could cost taxpayers up to $1 million, according to Monroe County Board of Elections Democratic Commissioner Tom Ferrarese. He said that even if a special election were held, by the time the winner is sworn in, it could be a few months at most, before the seat is open once again.

TX: Judge orders mail-in votes impounded in Pct. 2 Commissioner race
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/-110978–.html
According to Peña, his poll watchers saw irregularities in the mail-in votes. “Some of the signatures on the applications did not appear to match the return ballot. Numerous mail-in ballots had the signature of the same politiquera who obtained the voters’ signature and ballot,” Peña’s petition states.

UT: Federal Court Hears Argument in Utah Case on Whether Petition Signers’ Names are Public http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/04/15/federal-court-hears-argument-in-utah-case-on-whether-petition-signers-names-are-public/

VA: Jim Crow makes a comeback in Virginia
http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/archives/jim_crow_makes_a_comeback_in_virginia/

Internet Voting Watch

UK: Internet Voting: Threat or Menace
http://talks.cam.ac.uk/talk/index/24354
Jeremy Epstein. Tuesday 27 April 2010, 16:15-17:15 University of Cambridge
How do we (and should we) answer the frequently asked question ‘if I can bank online and shop online, why can’t I vote online’?

Voter Action charges EAC with violating the federal Administrative Procedure Act
http://www.voteraction.org/news-article/2010/voter-action-charges-eac-violating-federal-administrative-procedure-act-0
Fifteen days notice simply is not adequate to permit the public to comment on the proposed requirements and implementing manual to govern voting systems to be used by U.S.

The Voting News Daily: 1 in 10 Cuyahoga voting machines fail. GA troops i-voting guinea pigs. Violence fears for Sudan, Philippines elections

Georgia passed bill to use overseas military as guinea pigs in an internet voting experiment…MO. House approves voter ID’s, early voting…10 percent of Cuyahoga County Ohio’s ES&S DS200 voting machines fail pre-election tests…200+ letters already sent to ex-felons in Virginia telling them to write a “personal letter to the Governor” to get their voting rights restored. Gov spokesperson says letters were sent in error…Lawyers’ Committee Objects to Felon Restoration Rules in Virginia: Says Section 5 Preclearance is Necessary…Violence & fraud expected in Sudan and Philippines elections…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

CO: Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald, April 11, on maintaining easier voting participation while preventing voter fraud:
http://www.reporterherald.com/Opinion-story.asp?ID27668
The challenge is to strike a balance between practices that make it easier to vote with those practices that ensure an accurate vote.

CO: Second Meeting of Aspen 2010 Election Commission- comments
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/second-meeting-of-aspen-2010-election.html

GA: Voting measure awaits governor’s signature (internet voting experiment)
http://www.forsythnews.com/news/article/4898/
If Gov. Sonny Perdue signs House Bill 665, overseas voters will participate in a pilot program that allows them to vote electronically, instead of mailing paper ballots.

GA: Kemp: No politics in pre-clearance moves
http://onlineathens.com/stories/041410/let_606811761.shtml

MD: “Maryland enacts law to count incarcerated people at their home addresses; First-in-nation law will improve fairness and accuracy of the Census data used for redistricting”
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015693.html

MO: Mo. House approves voter ID’s, early voting (goes to senate next)
http://www.koamtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12312375

N.M. county clerks receive old voter registration cards
http://www.koat.com/news/23142862/detail.html
County clerks around the state are in limbo Tuesday night wondering what they’re supposed to do with completed voter registration cards that dated to the 2008 election.

NY: What Do You Do With Old Voting Machines?
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20100401/DCO01/304019907
MASSENA – Now that St. Lawrence County’s 115 lever-style voting machines can no longer be used for official elections, the Board of Elections is trying to decide what to do with them.

OH: 10 percent of Cuyahoga County’s voting machines fail pre-election tests*
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/04/some_cuyahoga_countys_voting_m.html
With just weeks until the May 4 primary election, the system’s manufacturer, Election Systems & Software Inc., has been unable to find what is causing the machines to arbitrarily power down and lock up during a test.
…
But it is hard to tell how pervasive the problem is. Board members were told at their meeting Tuesday that some machines that first passed the test, later failed when the procedure was repeated.

Employees stopped the test after 19 of the 279 machines had problems. Those 19 were put aside, and the staff started the tests on the others all over again. By the time they had retested 200 machines, nine of those that initially passed had failed the second time around.

TX: Commissioner candidate alleges voter fraud
http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=443784
The Precinct 2 Commissioner candidate alleged that mail-in ballot numbers were “blatantly discrepant” with regular in-person voting.

TX: Runoff Voting Underway; Voters Mistakenly Turned Away
http://www.kbtx.com/local/headlines/90748844.html
There was an issue at Aldersgate Methodist Church in College Station Tuesday morning, which acts as Precinct 40. According to county officials, six voters were mistakenly turned away by election workers because they had not voted in the primary.

The Voting News Daily: Diebold ATMs hacked. Buying Justice in PA. Voting machines stoke Filipinos fears.

Is a Colorado election bill trying to do too much?…Buying of Pa. judicial elections troubling…Fort Bend County TX Reports Problems With Electronic Poll List…The ACLU of Virginia accused Gov. Bob McDonnell of reinstating a “literacy test” in Virginia for non violent ex-felons…New Voting Machines Stoke Filipinos’ Fears…Diebold ATMs are hackable too – BofA Insider to Plead Guilty to Hacking (Diebold) ATMs…

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

AK: Sec. Daniels Announces New Mobile Application for Arkansans to Verify Voter Registration Information
http://www.sos.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&news_id=126

CA: “Don’t Put Away Those Clipboards Yet”
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015683.html
Don’t use your iPad to sign a digital petition in CA and expect it to count.

CO: Colorado may need rescuing from voting bill
http://www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/articles/colorado_may_need_rescuing_fro/
The bill is still under construction and presently weighs in at roughly 69 pages
…
Allowing third-party organizations to collect and deliver votes to polling stations

Co: Bayfield town election results change
http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/2010/04/13
/Bayfield_town_election_results_change/
or http://tinyurl.com/y77h9u8 The recount was requested after Mayor Rick Smith and Town Clerk Marianne Jones examined the election results and found the election judge’s tally of votes did not match the final results presented to the board.

CO: County Clerk candidate Dr. Charles Corry discussing Voting, electronic voting, voting systems and Colorado voting records. (video)
http://politics.ifoday.com/?p=8361

CO: Questions have not been answered
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/140148

IL: Swansea, Illinois Man and East St. Louis Precinct Committeeman Arraigned on Federal Tax and Election Offenses
http://springfield.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/si040910.htm

MD: Maryland Assembly backs voter registration at 16
http://wjz.com/wireapnewsmd/Md.Assembly.backs.2.1628042.html

NC: BofA Insider to Plead Guilty to Hacking ATMs (Diebold ATM)
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7798
Any guess which company supplies Bank of America’s hackable ATM systems?…

NV: Secretary of state, treasurer accused of ethical violations
http://www.recordcourier.com/article/20100412/
NEWS/100419977/1062&ParentProfile=1049 or
http://tinyurl.com/y7xu45w A Republican candidate for attorney general is claiming advertisements for the census featuring Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller appear to be in violation of state law.

NY: LETTER: Transition to new machines this year
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2010/04/13/opinion/
doc4bbb791c94077530704249.txt
http://tinyurl.com/yb3z446

PA: EDITORIAL: Buying of Pa. judicial elections troubling
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/04/12/opinion/
doc4bc261e2f346b246460312.txt or
http://tinyurl.com/yyttpus …in two-thirds of the cases (67 percent) before that same court in 2008 and 2009, at least one of the litigants, lawyers, or law firms had contributed to the election campaign of at least one justice. In nearly half of the cases (46 percent), a single litigant, lawyer, or law firm had contributed to at least four of the six elected justices’ election campaigns.

TX: Fort Bend County Reports Problems With Electronic Poll List, Glitch Forces Manual Verification Of Voters *
http://www.fortbendnow.com/2010/04/13/45138
…Because of the glitch, poll workers are having to manually record the voter’s name and address on the poll book and then manually issue a code that allows them to cast their ballot, Oldham said.

VA: Opposition builds to McDonnell’s changes to felon voting rights restoration process
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2010/04

/opposition_builds_to_mcdonnell.html
http://tinyurl.com/y6lrfy8
“For persons with a limited education, the governor’s requirement that they write an essay explaining their past and present actions and the rationale for why their rights should be restored is a nearly insurmountable obstacle,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis on Monday…

WI: Six voters cast two ballots in spring election mistake* (wrong ballot style)
http://www.weau.com/news/headlines/90678984.html

The Voting News Daily: VA Gov plans literacy test for ex-felons. TN to fix retroactive voter purge.

Illinois SBE open source campaign finance reporting software will save state money and is flexible…Will Sarasota voters ever get what audits audits they voted for 4 yrs ago?… Tennessee -Proposes Bill to fix voter purge that impacted long registered voters…VA Gov McDonnell in hot water over nonviolent felons’ rights…Two Problems with the New Challenge to Section 5 of Voting Rights Act…The comment period for UOCAVA Pilot Program Testing Reqs (online voting) ends April 15…Facebook joins in UK’s voter registration drive…Sudan has 2nd day of voting for first election in nearly 25 years…

CA: San Mateo County, California, Ponders Alternate Voting Systems
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/04/08/san-mateo-county-california-ponders-alternate-voting-systems/

CO: Election reform mishap
http://www.eptrail.com/ci_14846219?
Election reform may be coming next year, but let`s get more input from the county clerks charged with implementing the law. That way, no one can accuse the Speaker of a last-minute election manipulation

FL: THE ELECTION AUDIT- Vs. THE AUDITED (Elections)Video
http://www.blip.tv/file/3465010/
Augi talks about the Sarasota Florida Election Audit process, will the voters ever get what they voted on and passed.. 4 years and running..

FL: Two elderly women allege voter fraud in Haines City (absentee ballot fraud)
http://www.newschief.com/article/20100411/NEWS/100419996/1021

GA: Walker County Board of Elections unanimously votes to consolidate voting precincts; opponents vow fight (18 precincts down to 11)
http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/7031626/article-Walker-County-Board-of-Elections-unanimously-votes-to-consolidate-voting-precincts–opponents-vow-fight-?instance=home_news_lead_story

GA: Lobbyist disclosure the focus of Georgia ethics reform
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/2010/04/11/lobbyist-disclosure-the-focus-of-georgia-ethics-reform/

IL: Good News from the SBE (r/e their campaign disclosure software project)
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/04/12/good-news-from-the-sbe/
…Most important, the code belongs to the government, can be changed as desired, and will have no licensing costs in the future. A great example of how software development in house can be a win-win for everyone.

MN: Charter wants another perspective
http://www.republican-eagle.com/event/article/id/65806/
Before dancing any closer toward endorsing ranked-choice voting the Red Wing Charter Commission wants to hear from an opponent of the alternative voting system.

NC: Burke County elections director resigns
http://www2.morganton.com/content/2010/apr/11/burke-county-elections-director-resigns/
Beam said the elections office is a shoestring operation, but it’s gotten to the place where the shoestring is going to break.

NY: ‘Illegal’ raise for elections board commissioners returned
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100411/NEWS01/4110342
In 2008, the Republican and Democratic commissioners of the Dutchess County Board of Elections gave themselves what County Executive William Steinhaus called “illegal” raises of $4,827 each — which they ultimately had to give back. Then, in 2009, according to county documents, they tried to do it again but were unsuccessful.

OH: Voting glitch sparks complaint *
Programming error blamed for wrong ballots
http://www.tdn-net.com/main.asp?SectionID=152&SubSectionID=255&ArticleID=105787
…the error occurred due to a programming irregularity on the master encoder.
…
Quillen said he discovered that when elections workers encoded the individual voter card and selected precinct first, then party affiliation, the card was encoded accurately with a ballot that contained both state issues and candidates.

But, when elections workers encoded the individual voter card and selected party affiliation first, then precinct, the encoder defaulted to a non-partisan selection for party affiliation, which resulted in a ballot that listed only state issues, but no candidates.

OH: Brunner calls for open primary system
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/04/10/brunner-calls-for-open-primary-system.html?sid=101

MT: Absentee ballots grow in popularity in Montana
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/government-and-politics/elections/article_995e80f6-4394-11df-af3a-001cc4c03286.html

The Voting News Daily: Sarasota Election Sup wastes taxpayer $ to block audits. GA Gov wants suit for citizenship checks

Did mail-in voting enhance turnout in Dallas TX the wrong way?…Election 2010: Why is everything digital except the voting system?…Arrogance and pride in action: Sarasota Florida Elections Supervisor Kathy Dent is wasting the taxpayers’ dollars and time suing the county and state to fight the charter ordered, court upheld post election audits. Now Dent claims she just needs “clarification”….NY – Voting machine flap: Dog ate my ballot…von Spakovsky Responds to TPM on Foreign Language Voting Materials Controversy…

The news is brief today but fascinating….

FL: Elections supervisor sues county, state
http://www.pelicannews.com/content/1988_1.php
Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent is going back to court to fight a voter-approved charter amendment she cannot abide.

GA: Perdue: AG should sue feds over Ga. voting checks
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/ap/perdue-ag-should-sue-over-voting-checks-in-ga-90275132.html … Gov. Sonny Perdue has directed Thurbert Baker to sue the Obama administration to implement citizenship checks for newly-registering voters.

IA: Iowa: first out of the gate for Citizens United legislative response?
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/2010/04/09/iowa-first-out-of-the-gate-for-citizens-united-legislative-response/

KY: The corruption business model (Clay County)
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/04/08/1215079.html
With the list of the convicted now past a dozen and the extensive evidence of an organized, ongoing vote-buying machine, there’s reason to believe this was not a conspiracy hidden under a bushel basket.

NY: Voting machine flap: Dog ate my ballot
http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/24652/voting-machine-flap-dog-ate-my-ballot/ But there are some would be holdouts such as in Nassau County whose leaders are in court arguing they won’t have time to replace the machines by the upcoming election cycle.

TX: How Not To Increase “Voter” Participation
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3033
Now there is new evidence of a more orchestrated campaign by so-called “vote harvesters” allegedly tampering with mail-in ballots.

TX: District Attorney will Protect Ballot Boxes (Webb County)
http://www.laredosun.us/notas.asp?id=5976
“The ballot boxes are being placed at the elections offices in a special room to which only an investigator from the District Attorney’s office has a key to,”

VA: von Spakovsky Responds to TPM on Foreign Language Voting Materials Controversy
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015664.html
…The claim by TPM that the Electoral Board voted to end the distribution of foreign language voting materials is flat-out wrong: Fairfax County has never provided any voting materials of any kind in any language other than English.

OR: Guest Column: Peter Wagner on Felons, Redistricting, and the Urban/Rural Divide
This from Peter Wagner of the Prison Policy Initiative:
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=3157

National

I’ve added a new link to transparencydata.com for campaign finance data
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/2010/04/09/ive-added-a-new-link-to-transparencydata-com-for-campaign-finance-data/ Sunlight Foundation Blog notes the introduction of TransparencyData.com. The site bills itself as the “central source for all federal and state campaign contributions made in the last twenty years

Elections Assistance Commission
On-demand webcast of April 8 public meeting is available
http://www.eac.gov/blog-postings/on-demand-webcast-of-april-8-eac-public-meeting-is-available

Internet voting watch

Canada: UPDATED: Online voting hits a snag in Sarnia
http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2527886
…It would cost taxpayers $258,000 to create Internet and mail-in voting options in addition to regular polls. The staff report also cites concerns about the security of the polls and requests more time to investigate

UK: Election 2010: Why is everything digital except the voting system?
http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2010/04/09/13362-election-2010-why-is-everything-digital-except-the-voting-system– “…Because it is digital, there is no guarantee that someone could not manipulate the process by replicating the process to produce the voting vouchers or replicate the system in some way that delivered more votes.”

The Voting News Daily: Fairfax VA now English only voting forms. Webb Co TX disabled denied secret ballot? Online Voter Reg Debate.

Aspen Transparency Litigation: What’s being hidden and why?…Kinston, North Carolina voters challenge Section 5 of Voting Rights Act….von Spakovsky Votes to End Fairfax County Distribution of Voting Materials in Languages other than English…An advocacy group filed a complaint against Webb County,Texas saying voters with disabilities do not have access to a secret ballot…Advocates and Legislators Debate the Promise (and Potential Problems) of Online Voter Registration…British democracy: no better than Uzbekistan’s…

Correction: Yesterday we mistakenly said that 89 Maryland voters may have voted twice in 2008, but prosecutor’s office can’t afford to investigate.The correct number was 189. Our apologies.

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AK: Poll mistake complicates Midtown Assembly election *
http://www.adn.com/2010/04/07/1216620/poll-mistake-complicates-midtown.html
The tight Midtown Assembly race took an odd twist Wednesday when the city clerk said she’ll have to throw out as many as 175 votes in the race between former Assemblyman Dick Traini and conservative Andy Clary because of a mix-up at a downtown precinct.

AR: Pope Co. election commission considers purchases (iVotronics)
http://www.couriernews.com/story.php?ID=24372
Commission decides no new computers for voting
The Pope County Election Commission won’t be buying any new voting machines to use in the upcoming election because no company had any in stock as of Tuesday’s meeting.

CA: Electronic Signature Not Valid
http://warrenslocum.blogspot.com/2010/04/electronic-signature-not-valid.html
AN ELECTRONIC signature that was submitted on a statewide initiative petition does not comply with California’s election code, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge George Miram’s ruled on April 2.

CA: California Legislative Committee Passes Election-Day Voter Registration
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/04/08/california-legislative-committee-passes-election-day-voter-registration/

CO: What’s being hidden, and why? (Letter to Editor by Al Kolwicz) Aspen Transparency Litigation
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/whats-being-hidden-and-why-letter-to.html
Does anybody know why the City of Aspen is fighting so desperately to prevent public review of the May 2009 election files?

CO: Wrongly denied, again. Public seeks scanned ballot image files from HART InterCivic system.
http://coloradovotergroup.blogspot.com/2010/04/wrongly-denied-again-public-seeks.html

CO: Carroll announces bipartisan team to weigh election-reform legislation
http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_14841228

FL: Is Fla. Gov. Crist’s Veto of an Election Bill Tied to a Possible Independent Run for U.S. Senate?
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015658.html

IL: Clerk addressing audit concerns (Iroquois County)
http://newsbug.info/articles/2010/04/07/watseka_times_republic
/local_news/doc4bbc08d5b0f7d352844176.txt
http://tinyurl.com/yjy2dmt
…the state’s election board is auditing all counties that purchased something with grant monies.

MD: General Assembly bills could impact election officials
http://times-news.com/local/x552034904/General-Assembly-bills-could-impact-election-officials

MD: Election integrity
Our view: Irregularities unlikely serious but deserve state prosecutor’s scrutiny
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-0409-voting-20100408,0,1135907.story

ME: Man accused of voting twice pleads not guilty
http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/140742.html …He allegedly voted in Dixmont on Nov. 3, then, registered and voted in nearby Newburgh.

NC: New challenge to Sec. 5
http://www.scotusblog.com/2010/04/new-challenge-to-sec-5/
Voters in the town of about 23,000 people had approved a ballot measure that would end city elections based on party candidates, and switch to non-partisan elections. The measure could not go into effect, however, because Kinston is a part of Lenoir County, North Carolina, and that county is covered by Section 5.

NC: Local citizens’ group sues in federal court for nonpartisan voting
http://www.enctoday.com/news/voting-64557-kfpress-citizens-local.html
Five Kinston citizens have banded together in an effort to challenge the constitutionality of Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act and bring nonpartisan voting to local municipal elections.

The Voting News Daily: Double voting in MD unprosecuted. ACORN not dead yet.US Cyber Insecurity

NYT Concedes They Were Wrong? Paper Loses ‘Pimp’ Language Entirely in Latest ACORN Report. Also: ACORN not dead yet!…Florida Gov Crist vetos legislative money grab bill…189 MD voters may have voted twice in 2008, but prosecutor’s office can’t afford to investigate…Secret Funding of US Chamber’s Political Ads May Change…Although the United States likely has the best cyberwar capabilities in the world, “that offensive prowess cannot make up for the weaknesses in our defensive position,” one-time presidential advisor Richard Clarke…

all this and more in today’s voting news below…

CA: Ranked-choice voting in San Leandro hits a snag
San Leandro to revisit the item on April 19
http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_14832251
…her (Councilwoman Diana Souza)constituents felt ranked-choice was confusing and would discourage voters, and they doubted cost-savings estimates.

CO: Aspen deserves answers
http://tiny.cc/20icr
Looking forward, Aspen voters should take a hard look at what is being said by experts nationally about IRV and about Aspen’s unusual system in particular. They should demand straight answers from city officials, and decide for themselves…

CO: Carroll responds to attacks on voting reform proposal
http://tiny.cc/1bc37
…the legislation was originally drafted at the urging of the county clerks to help reduce their administrative burden and to save taxpayer monies.

CO: UNDERSTANDING WHAT “SECRET BALLOT” MEANS IN COLORADO – an illustrative chart http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/understanding-what-secret-ballot-means.html

CO: Public seeks scanned ballot image files from HART InterCivic system.
http://coloradovotergroup.blogspot.com/2010/04/public-seeks-scanned-ballot-image-files.html

FL: Gov. Charlie Crist spares his party with a timely veto
http://tiny.cc/04p4a The governor simply couldn’t stomach the legislative money grab that came in the form of CS/HB 1207, which would have authorized the creation of “affiliated party committees.”

FL: Sheriff, others warn of devastating budget cuts
http://tiny.cc/lqtbj …Another round of budget cuts in Broward County could lead to the closure of another jail, less early voting in fall elections and fewer inspections of homes to set the property tax roll.

GA: Training now required for voter drives
http://www.rockdalecitizen.com/news/headlines/90050117.html

GA: Son of NAMUDNO: A Case that Should Make Section 5 Supporters Nervous
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015648.html
I had been thinking that a Georgia suit to fight the DOJ’s denial of preclearance of its “voter verification” program could provide the vehicle for a constitutional challenge to section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

MD: Prosecutor’s office hasn’t pursued cases of dual voting
http://www.explorebaltimorecounty.com/news/105504/prosecutors-office-hasnt-pursued-cases-dual-voting/
Nearly 200 people thought to have voted twice in 2008

SC: Precinct division causes confusion for voters
http://www.thestate.com/2010/04/06/1232331/precinct-division-causes-confusion.html
More than half the voters who showed up at the Polo Road precinct for today’s City of Columbia elections had been turned away by mid-afternoon, poll workers said.

WI: Green Bay officials look into suspected voter fraud
http://tiny.cc/mp4qv

WI: Update: Voter fraud investigated; power outage didn’t affect polls
http://tiny.cc/xus7p
Last night’s outage did not affect voters at the polls last night, officials said.

Internet voting

MI: Computer glitch causes ASMSU elections to end 8 hours early
http://tiny.cc/vakks
The first year of online-only voting for MSU’s various student governments’ spring elections hit a snag Monday when a missing zero caused polls to close early.

Internet Voting Beyond Technology (report)
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/32226461/Internet-Voting-Beyond-Technology

The Voting News Daily: WV Coal,corruption and campaign finance. Clay KY vote buying-more arrests?

Ezra Klein of the Washington Post writes about coal, corruption, campaign finance reform and yesterday’s mining tragedy in West Virginia. Klein says Blankenship, leader of the Massey coal mine “has more or less purchased the state’s government. He’s certainly bought the state Supreme Court….” Klein says that some sort of reform is needed in this case…Citizens in Clay County Kentucky are waiting to see who is arrested next in the long running vote buying scheme that has corrupted local government. At least another dozen high profile arrests are expected. The federal action to clean up the vote buying has increased public confidence in elections….

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

AL: Elections bill now goes to voters
http://times-journal.com/story.lasso?ewcd=64ec37c3d8bd31a6
A constitutional amendment that would give voters the chance to elect candidates to fill vacancies in DeKalb offices rather than an appointment by the governor has passed the Legislature and will appear on the November ballot for voter consideration

CA: Saturday Voting Initiative – Intended to Increase Voter Participation
http://tiny.cc/jiiel An election reform measure being proposed for the November ballot in San Francisco would add the Saturday before the traditional Tuesday election day as an alternate day for voters to cast their ballots

CA: Voting really isn’t that hard (LTE in San Francisco)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/05/ED831CP7UN.DTL

CA: San Leandro Council Deadlocks on Ranked Choice Voting Ordinance
http://www.sanleandrobytes.com/archives/010311.html

CO: All Briefs Now Filed in Colorado Lawsuit Over Independent Candidate Ballot Access http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/04/06/all-briefs-now-filed-in-colorado-lawsuit-over-independent-candidate-ballot-access/

CO: Web-based voter registration unveiled
http://www.gazette.com/articles/-96702–.html
Citizens with a Colorado driver’s license or identification card can surf to GoVoteColorado.com on the Internet to get registered for the ballot.

CO: Lawmakers consider election reform (video available)
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=136033&catid=339
House Speaker Terrance Carroll (D-Denver) has submitted what he calls a “first draft” of proposals that among other things, give counties more flexibility in holding mail-ballot elections during even years. The proposals would also eventually allow for voter registration on Election Day.

FL: Obscure political committees nudge Legislature’s agenda
http://tiny.cc/enuuw Little-known political committees benefit from industries trying to influence legislation.

FL: Call Crist to Veto HB 1207. Why Leadership Funds are Bad.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/electionreform/message/13299
…the bill which would legalize leadership funds by creating a new type of shady political committee which would be controlled by those legislators already in leadership and could raise an unlimited amount of money year round, even during legislative session, which is currently prohibited for lawmakers.

GA: Voter fraud website launched
http://tiny.cc/c9nux Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp today launched a new website to prevent election and voter fraud in Georgia elections.

KY: In Clay, residents wonder: “Who’s next?”
http://tiny.cc/zxfq7 In the past five years, more than a dozen local officials have been convicted of crimes that included extorting kickbacks from a contractor, laundering money for a drug dealer and buying votes on a grand and pernicious scale.

What has people holding their breath, though, is that more than a dozen other current or former public officials also allegedly took part in vote fraud, according to witnesses, prosecutors and court documents.

The Voting News Daily: Benton TN voter purge to hit seniors. NY election law redux. Outsourcing Philippines elections?

Many long time voters in Benton County Tennessee may be purged from the voter rolls simply because they did not check off a box on their voter registration form that says they are a US Citizen. …The Dept of Justice had to instruct Alamance County DSS to comply with the 17 year old National Voter Registration Act… Several articles about New York’s paper ballot law and efforts to repeal it….A Philippines group is not happy with the switch to computer counting of the vote: “The outsourcing of the nation’s electoral process to a foreign firm is causing widespread anxiety among concerned citizens and various sectors” ~ CAAEF-FAEL…Ireland unable to unload its paperless voting machines as other countries ditch e-voting or adopt paper based systems…

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CO: Aspen Daily News and Aspen Times poll regarding Marilyn Marks’
transparency suit http://tiny.cc/pva4a

CT: One Way Connecticut Could Empower Military and Overseas Voters
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=3025
One key to truly empowering military and overseas voters is accessible, timely information to speed the process of meeting the requirements of obtaining, completing, and returning absentee ballots and applications.

NC: DSS, state elections board still at odds
http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/elections-32795-forms-county.html
the DSS offices in Alamance, Burke and Johnston counties “have consistently and substantially failed to comply with the requirements of Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act.”

NC: Voter appeals registration removal, claims violation of constitutional rights
http://tiny.cc/l3er3

NC: Cary may back campaign bill
Town will discuss the use of public funds for local political campaigns.
http://www.carynews.com/2010/04/03/16971/cary-may-back-campaign-bill.html
“Money doesn’t buy you love,” he said. Frantz spent $8,000 on his winning Town Council campaign, less than his two opponents.

NJ: Flood Soaks 300 Volumes of County Voter Registration Documents
http://tiny.cc/twrz9

NY: Nassau County – The Dog Ate My Homework
http://www.bolipari.com/boblog/2010/04/nassau-county-the-dog-ate-my-homework/
First and foremost, the state’s transition to the new systems has been long been ordered and overseen by United States District Court Judge Gary Sharpe. The state Supreme Court cannot and will not counter that higher power.

NY: Optical scan voting machines not welcomed by all Mid-Hudson counties
http://tiny.cc/sqw27 Tyner, D-Clinton, said…he will introduce a resolution in the county (Duchess) Legislature, urging it to allow the county Board of Elections to join Nassau’s lawsuit, which he said could be done at no cost to taxpayers.

NY: Walton village election results in *
http://www.thedailystar.com/local/local_story_091040005.html
WALTON _ The snafu with the Walton village election results that didn’t add up was resolved Wednesday when the voting machines were rechecked, an error was discovered and a trustee resigned.

NY: New voting machines still cause concerns
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20420134&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574908&rfi=6

OH: Touch-screen voting machines sit, long after vote probe
http://tiny.cc/c485t
Thirty-four touch-screen voting machines are kept locked up as evidence from the November 2007 election, in which fraud was alleged.

OR: Guest Column: Spencer on felons and redistricting
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=3153

TN: Thousands Of Valid Voters May Be Purged (Benton County TN includes video)
Voter Registrations Show Deficiencies
http://www.wsmv.com/politics/23056611/detail.html
Thousands of law abiding U.S. citizens are in danger of being purged from Tennessee’s voter rolls in one county.

The Voting News Daily: Nassau Co NY sues to undo election law, keep levers. Wal-Mart a top political donor. NC Ballot access challenge

Are Colorado Election officials making decisions behind closed doors?…They want to keep the lever machines: Nassau County wants the New York Election Reform and Modernization Act of 2005 declared unconstitutional, and wants the DS200 system decertified in New York State…Wal-Mart, UBS and Other Groups Added to OpenSecrets.org List of Top Political Givers…Too late the CA Atty Gen says ACORN did not violate the law….

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AK: Senate passes campaign finance bill
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=12245818
The bill, which found bipartisan support, would require notice of who or what is funding political ads on television or in the newspaper.

AZ: Arizona Bill, Removing Presidential Elector Names from Ballot, Advances
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/04/02/arizona-bill-removing-presidential-elector-names-from-ballot-advances/
If the Arizona bill is signed into law, the only states that will still print the names of presidential electors on their ballots will be Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, Louisiana, and Idaho.

AZ: Citizens United sparks changes to Arizona campaign finance law
http://bit.ly/a8W5GI

CA: CA A.G. FINDS ‘NO VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL LAW’ IN ‘SEVERELY EDITED’ ACORN
‘PIMP’ VIDEOS; UNEDITED TAPES RELEASED
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7780
The Attorney General also confirms that O’Keefe never appeared in any of the offices “dressed as a 1970s Superfly pimp,” as he had been edited to appear at the beginning and end of each of the videos. Neither did he ever claim to be a pimp…

CA: Judge hears challenge to city’s instant runoff voting system
http://tinyurl.com/yen2hzs SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge said at a court hearing Thursday* he is inclined to reject a citizens’ challenge* to San Francisco’s instant
runoff voting system, but made no final decision.

CO: COMPLAINT: Urgent – ongoing violation of Open Meetings Laws (ltr to Atty Gen)
http://bit.ly/cobxZ7 There is a meeting of Colorado election officials underway today in Westminster. These same officials are interfering with the Public’s right to observe. Your immediate intervention is requested.

MI: Barrow to ask court to order new Detroit mayoral election
http://www.detnews.com/article/20100401/METRO/4010468/1024/POLITICS03/Barrow-to-ask-court-to-order-new-Detroit-mayoral-election#ixzz0jxO8NEVP
Barrow requested a recount, but upon discovering problems with security seals on some absentee container boxes, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers ruled that none of the 41,485 absentee ballots would be recounted and the board reverted to the original election night results.

MI: Barrow seeks to nullify mayoral election
http://bit.ly/9wqRcl In his filing, Barrow, 61, alleges Bing “usurped and wrongfully holds title to the office of mayor” because of tainted ballots.

MS: Mississippi: DOJ objects to law requiring runoffs in some school board
elections http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/006365.html

NC: North Carolina Ballot Access Hearing Set for May 20
http://bit.ly/canrYR A Superior court in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, will hear oral arguments in Brody v North Carolina Board of Elections on May 20. This is the case in which an independent candidate for the legislature argues that he should not need any petition to be on the November ballot this year, because …

NY: County Challenges Electronic Voting System
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/04/01/26056.htm
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CN) – Nassau County and its Republican and Democratic Elections Commissioners sued New York State for requiring that pull-lever voting machines “trusted” for more than a century be replaced with “computerized voting technology that is notoriously vulnerable to systemic hacking, tampering, manipulation and malfunction.”

The Voting News Daily: Another e-voting suit in Webb Co TX. Avi Rubin -Taking back American Idol!

Tano Tijerina has filed a lawsuit to block e-voting in the Webb Co TX runoff election. Atty Balli says the machines always create many problems in Webb County elections and his client wants to make sure each vote counts. Balli was successful in blocking use of e-voting in Webb Co’s Democratic primary. Avi Rubin on Taking back American Idol! The news is light today but we’ll be back tomorrow.

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

MA: State urged to pick up election tab
http://bit.ly/a939Ca
Massachusetts communities spent $7.8 million to hold the special election in January that elected Scott Brown as a US senator.

MI: DOJ objects to law requiring runoffs in some school board elections
http://www.votelaw.com/blog/archives/006365.html

NH: Voting machines cannot be trusted (presentation April 7)
http://sentinelsource.com/articles/2010/04/01/opinion/letters_editor/free/id_396093.txt

NY: New voting machines still cause concerns
http://tinyurl.com/ygv2ykw

NY: Fate of old voting machines being mulled
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20100401/NEWS05/304019927
MASSENA — Now that St. Lawrence County’s 115 lever-style voting machines can no longer be used, the Board of Elections is trying to decide what to do with them.

OH: Ohio Supreme Court Puts Constitution Party Candidate on Primary Ballot, Sets Valuable Precedent
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/31/ohio-supreme-court-puts-constitution-party-candidate-on-primary-ballot-sets-valuable-precedent/

OK: Election Fraud Bill Moves Forward (voter registration fraud)
Bill Seeks To Increase Fines For Violators
http://www.koco.com/politics/23019598/detail.html
The measure also adds fraudulent use of an absentee and making a false application to an absentee ballot a felony.

PA: Redistricting and Judicial Elections in Pennsylvania
http://electls.blogs.wm.edu/2010/03/31/redistricting-and-judicial-elections-in-pennsylvania/

SC: ACLU Urges Department Of Justice To Object To Changes In County Board Elections In South Carolina http://tinyurl.com/ygkw7qy

TX: Suit filed to ban electronic voting machines in run-offs
http://www.pro8news.com/news/local/89653532.html
Balli recently represented Louis Bruni, who was also successful in making sure electronic voting machines were not used in the democratic primaries

National

Taking Back American Idol
Avi Rubin.
http://avi-rubin.blogspot.com/2010/04/taking-back-american-idol.html
A couple of years ago, I noted in my blog a vulnerability in the American Idol voting system. There is a memory leak in the server that they use to tally votes, and the phone system they have implemented is vulnerable to dialer spoofing and scripted dialing

Happy Census Day! Here’s what’s at stake.
http://bit.ly/aac8Ri

New law allows military spouses to keep residency for voting purposes
http://www.eielson.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123197327

ElectionlineWeekly — April 1, 2010 (pdf newsletter)
http://bit.ly/9fOdXa

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
“The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from 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 Voting News Daily: Aspen ballot image kerfuffle. Microvote vs Indiana. Dont eat your ballot.

Aspens ballot images are secret depending on who asks for them. Marilyn Marks sued Aspen CO for public release of ballot images from Aspen’s May 2009 election and was told the images were “secret”. In turn the city sued Marks for frivolous litigation. There is a double standard here: “The judge, newspapers, Internet, GrassRoots and citizens have pictures of ballots the judge says must be preserved and locked in old ballot boxes…TrueBallot claimed having a disk marked ‘Aspen image files’ in late January…”~ Andy Lang, Jackson, Miss…“Mail-ballot elections cannot match the security of voting on paper in a polling place on Election Day,” ~ Margit Johansson of Coloradoans for Voting Integrity – about Bolder Co decision to have mail only primary…Open Election Data Project in the UK…Sarnia Ontario CA City Council considers adopting internet voting while technicians warn against it….Problems with Philippines brand new voting machines….Venezuelan military to voters: Don’t eat your ballot…

…All this and more in today’s voting news below.

AK: State Affairs – Division of Elections Overview
http://bit.ly/9sunQb

AL: Baldwin County election officials report few problems*
http://blog.al.com/live/2010/03/baldwin_county_election_offici.html
“but we also had to deal with an error by the state registrar that put a large number of people across the state on the inactive voter list, including many in Baldwin County.”
…
County officials said several people in the Fish River area mistakenly went to the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department to vote after a county notice…

CO: We have a problem
http://bit.ly/9Jucm5
Is The Aspen Times in violation of the court’s order that ballot images be locked away as city “secrets?” I found this ballot image from the May election in your online version —

CO: Commissioners: August primaries will be mail-ballot only
http://longmontledger.com/news/commissioners-august-primaries-will-be-mail-ballot-only/
…“Anyone who wants to vote by mail can; they have that choice,” said Yvonne Iden, of Longmont. “I don’t want to be forced to vote by mail.”

IA: Auditors eye precinct alternative
http://bit.ly/97pyS6
Voting centers are allowed under state law, but only in city and school elections. Fitzgerald and other county auditors want to lobby state lawmakers to make the voting center system available for primary and general elections, as well.

IN: MICROVOTE GENERAL CORPORATION v. INDIANA ELECTION COMMISSION
No. 49A02-0910-CV-975. Court of Appeals of Indiana. March 29, 2010.
http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/page.htm?shortname=ininco20100329174

LA: Voting machine inspection confirms Donald Villere’s four-vote win in Mandeville mayor’s race
http://bit.ly/cbZvRT (the machines are direct record machines)

ME: Clerk Accused Of Violating Secret Ballot (absentee ballot)
http://wbztv.com/wireapnewsme/Town.clerk.accused.2.1603484.html
…
Bowdoinham Town Clerk Pamela Ross is accused of unfolding the ballots when she removed them from envelopes, allowing her to see how individual voted.

MI: New Albany man faces perjury charges
http://bit.ly/9AszcB A Benton County grand jury has indicted a 45-year-old New Albany man on perjury charges involving a voter fraud case, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today

MN: Give legislators credit for increasing election integrity
http://bit.ly/bGEymR …Moreover, after the experience in the Senate recount, stakeholders from across the political spectrum agreed that recounts should include only ballots counted on Election Day.

The Voting News Daily: NM SOS email dump TMI. The Sarasota FL Election Merry Go Round. Manning up on elections

New Mexico SOS Herrera’s office may have violated federal law in a recent email dump revealing protected medical records of a former employee (and war veteran). The former employee recently resigned and alleged corruption in the SOS office…The Herald Tribune says “Sarasota County and the state should respect the will of local voters” and enact the charter mandated election audits…”It only took a few minutes for McCollum to file a lawsuit against the healthcare bill…Yet it took four years for McCollum to weigh-in on the rights of voting Americans in Florida, a state plagued by faulty elections.”~ Lani Massey Brown…More on the city of Aspen’s lawsuit to punish a voting activist who sought release of ballot images made by TrueBallot…

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CO: Aspen Daily News poll regarding “recoup” of money from Marilyn Marks
http://bit.ly/9DeYVw As with all such polls this one contains a considerable and dangerous lack of pertinent information.
…
…the sum also includes direct costs to defend against a law suit which Marks filed to pursue fulfillment of an open records request. The open records request pursued a simple public benefit, namely public access to convenient digital copies of anonymous bal

FL: The election merry-go-round
http://bit.ly/99Ofi8
Sarasota County and the state should respect the will of local voters

FL: Healthcare: Four years to man-up for American voting rights against ES&S, minutes to rally against healthcare for all Americans (OpEd)
http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Healthcare-Four-years-to-by-Lani-Massey-Brown-100325-41.html

FL: Prosecutors examine Riviera Beach ballot applications found in campaigner’s apartment http://bit.ly/aTuaMA
RIVIERA BEACH — The state attorney’s office is reviewing absentee ballot request forms and computer equipment found in the apartment of a woman who worked closely on campaigns with Mayor Thomas Masters, city officials said today.

FL: Martin County voters will be able to track ballots, registration online
http://bit.ly/aPaw1j
STUART — The Martin County Supervisor of Elections Office has updated its Web site, with a few new pages that eventually will allow county voters to track their vote-by-mail ballots and their voter registration status online

NM: Secretary of state releases un-redacted e-mails
http://www.nmpolitics.net/index/2010/03/secretary-of-state-relents-releases-un-redacted-e-mails/
Salazar “specifically asks that his medical conditions relating to his time served in Iraq not be made public.”

NM: Sec. of state releases sensitive information in public documents
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1490077.shtml?cat=517
…but new details indicate that too much information may have been released including violating a federal medical records law…
…
Other emails from the secretary of state’s office show that a man in charge of protecting the identity of domestic violence victims apparently had been working for the state under a fake name…
…But it turns out, Miller had a restraining order against him.

TX: Webb County will Test New Electronic System to Count Votes (type not mentioned)
http://www.laredosun.us/notas.asp?id=5600
Webb County’s elections administration will try out a new electronic equipment to count the votes in the upcoming runoff elections on April 13.

TX: You Only Need a Voting Card to Vote in Texas (no additional id required)
http://www.laredosun.us/notas.asp?id=5361 LAREDO, Tx.- In the state of Texas you just need a voting card to be able to vote; and the electoral laws mention that it is not necessary to present any other type of ID when you go out to vote.

The Voting News Daily: Bee Co TX FINDS 182 ballots. KY convicts 8 of vote buying.Internet Voting Debate YouTubed

WVA officials tout the use of “multiple keyholders” as making the state’s military internet voting pilot safer: “The county will be given a passcode to access voter information,” Harris said. “But it will take multiple keyholders to get to the information. This will prevent one person from having access.” WV officials must have missed reading about the Clay Co KY vote buying (like a co-op) scandal involving high level officials. In Clay County KY, “candidates banded together in slates and pooled their money to buy votes, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in some elections, witnesses said.”…Must see: Dr. Andrew Appel’s presentation at the internet voting debate in Germany,on YouTube…Hawaii picks voting machines finally…

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CO: Aspen’s Marks asks judge to reconsider (make ballot images public-case)
http://bit.ly/9RrfEg
…Marks argues that the court has interpreted the constitution’s requirement for secrecy in voting inappropriately. The motion contends that the ballot itself is not secret, but rather, it is anonymous.

CO: Dump IRV (about lawsuit against Aspen activist who sought ballot images)
by John Busch, Aspen Daily News Columnist
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/columnist/139863
I have always been a little uncomfortable with the law about frivolous lawsuits. It’s coming into play locally as the city of Aspen seeks reimbursement of legal costs resulting from Marilyn Marks suit to force the city to provide her with photocopies of ballots cast in last May’s election…
…
It certainly discourages use of our legal system as remedy to injustice.

CO: City looks to profit from citizen activist temporary loss in court
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/03/city-looks-to-profit-from-citizen.html

CO: Aspen asks judge for $70K in legal fees in Marks suit
http://bit.ly/aWBPt3
Local government claims lawsuit over May election ballot images was ‘vexatious’

DC: DC to replace electronic voting machines (iVotronics w/paper on reel)
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/breaking/dc-to-replace-electronic-voting-machines-89049127.html
Voters can choose to fill out a paper ballot or vote on the machines.

FL: Candidate who lost challenges Davie election
http://bit.ly/akDQth Failed Davie Town Council candidate Freda Stevens has …alleging her opponent went to the polls and harassed and intimidated African-American voters.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Broward Circuit Court, accuses election winner Caryl Casey Hattan, the town, Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes and the Broward County Canvassing Board of misconduct, fraud and corruption in violation of state law.

HI: State selects Texas firm to supply voting machines
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2010/mar/25/bc-hi-voting-machines/?news®ion-state
Chief Election Officer Scott Nago says Hart InterCivic of Austin has signed a $389,000 contract to provide about 350,000 ballots and envelopes, as well as electronic voting machines and counters for the all-mail special election.

IL: Champaign County Facility Costs
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/03/29/champaign-county-facility-costs/
Looking at the facility costs related to voter registration for election authorities in Oregon and comparing it to Champaign County leaves one wondering.

KY: [UPDATED]: Clay County, KY Election Officials Found Guilty of Election Fraud, Vote Buying Convicted high-ranking officials include a circuit court judge, county clerk and school superintendent. Each face up to 20 years in broad conspiracy that included manipulation of electronic voting machines…
FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7765

KY: Jury convicts all 8 defendants in Clay vote-buying case
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/25/1197075/jury-convicts-all-8-defendants.html

The Voting News Daily: Sarasota officials try to kill election audit. Aspen strikes out at transparency activist.

It is a tough week for election transparency and the activists who work so hard for it. Sarasota FL officials try another tactic to kill the charter mandated election audits that citizens asked for: “It is the duty of the County Commission and the county attorney to protect and defend our county charter, not work to defeat it…This is dirty pool and it’s against the interest of the Sarasota County voters.” ~ Kindra Muntz,founder,Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, www.safevote.org…The City of Aspen is going after the election activist who sought to have Aspen ballot images made public….

I will be traveling Thursday morning through Sunday evening. If time and my laptop computer cooperate I’ll send out news on Friday….

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CO: Marks v. Koch: last ten days: City brings out big stick: Aspen Transparency Litigation (city goes after activist who sued to get ballot images released to public)
http://aspenelectionreview.blogspot.com/2010/03/marks-v-koch-last-ten-days-city-brings.html

CO: What’s next for Colorado campaign finance law? Possibly more laws
http://politicalactivitylaw.com/?p=8891

FL: Sarasota officials work to kill charter ordered election audits
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/electionreform/message/13258
It also appears that the Sarasota County Attorney’s office has been working closely with Kathy Dent’s attorney and the Florida Secretary of State’s office to insert pre-emption language into the current elections bill before the Florida Senate, SB900, to crush our county charter amendment, since they didn’t win at the Florida Supreme..

FL: Voters rights watchdog group upset with official’s suggestion
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100324/ARTICLE/3241053/-1/NEWSSITEMAP
SARASOTA COUNTY – A voters rights group says a county attorney tried to circumvent the will of the voters and the state Supreme Court and get locally mandated election audits banned by the Legislature.

FL: Candidate who lost challenges Davie vote
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-03-23/news/fl-davie-election-lawsuit-20100323_1_poll-workers-voting-machines-caryl-casey-hattan

DC: DC Board of Elections Announces Award for Voting Equipment to Election Systems and Software (ES&S)
http://blog.verifiedvoting.org/2010/03/24/439

KY: Former judge-executive placed on probation
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/23/1193318/former-perry-judge-executive-is.html

WA: Reed doing well after surgery (SOS)
http://www.theolympian.com/2010/03/23/1182175/secretary-of-state-reed-doing.html

National

Levitt: Karl Rove Is Right About Importance of Local Elections
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_108/ma_congressional_relations/44522-1.html
Karl Rove has lately been broadcasting the importance of downballot elections in places with names like Brushy Creek. This is not a lesson in civics. It is a lesson in power. And he’s right.

Claims with No Data
Champaign County Clerk at 8:30 am under Elections
http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/03/24/claims-with-no-data/
…Not so the voter registration reform folks. There are two problems, both of which point to a serious disinterest in data.

No, NYT, O’Keefe Didn’t ‘Pose as a Pimp’ Either (ACORN)
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7761 Yet more evidence that O’Keefe did not ‘represent himself’ as the NYTimes and its Public Editor continue to claim

Abraham M. Rutchick, “Deus Ex Machina: The Influence of Polling Place on Voting Behavior” in Political Psychology
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=3138

” New Transparency Bill Would Bring Redistricting Out of Back Rooms: Statement of J. Gerald Hebert, Executive Director”
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015557.html

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to Voting News at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/votingnews
To assist with Daily Voting News, please send links to news articles to us at votingnews@earthlink.net
=============================================
“The Voting News is a free service made possible in part by support from Verified Voting Foundation.

The Voting News Daily: ES&S Trade Secrets Trial. The 1st Corporate Ad. CT audits election. Why ACORN fell.

“Auditing election results isn’t just a good idea, it’s absolutely essential in order to guarantee the integrity of our elections,” said Connecticut Sec. of State Bysiewicz…Letter to editor criticizing Aspen Times: “An independently owned community newspaper should demand government transparency, not defend the government in demonizing the reformers.”…Trial set in Neb. election trade secrets case where former ES&S employees used copyrighted software to help state and local governments manage elections…

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CT: Bysiewicz draws precincts to have Town Committee Primary results audited
http://bit.ly/abmDWP …As required by Public Act 07-194, An Act Concerning the Integrity and Security of the Voting Process, ten percent of the polling precincts used in the primaries are subject to an audit.

CT: What could a Secretary of the State Do?
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2982 When I talk to candidates for Secretary of the State, one of my main themes is what they could do on their own authority as Secretary of the State to improve election integrity and public confidence…

CO: Protect independent Logic and Accuracy Testing
http://coloradovotergroup.blogspot.com/2010/03/protect-independent-logic-and-accuracy.html

CO: A double standard (LTE)
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100323/LETTER/100329964/-1/RSS
Hooper, presumably with your blessing, refused to report the story of the city’s cover-up of the election problems, their coordinated efforts to discredit valid concerns of well-known election activists.

CO: The cover-up continues (LTE) http://bit.ly/9Wv6Qm

CO: defender of democracy (LTE)
http://bit.ly/bXrQ6h She (Marks) has asked that the ballot images be released so that those who actually understand the problems with the voting methodology can determine whether there is a problem. The city and its leaders,…do not want to hear the message.

CO: Glass Ballot Box Project–Aspen Election Transparency
http://www.glassballotbox.org/
The Glass Ballot Box Litigation project is an effort to keep election records (including scanned ballot images) as publicly available records.

CO: Council appoints new election commission
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/139810

CO: A double standard (LTE)
http://bit.ly/aWjRRN …Hooper, presumably with your blessing, refused to report the story of the city’s cover-up of the election problems, their coordinated efforts to discredit valid concerns of well-known election activists.

GA: Georgia secretary of state weighs in on electronic voting systems
http://bit.ly/9CWsit Most Georgians trust electronic voting systems that have been in place across the state for several years…
…
The elections industry is moving to seek some sort of paper verification system, according to Kemp, because there is a segment of the population out there that doesn’t trust electronic voting.

MA: Learning About Memory Cards
http://bit.ly/bhsfdv Sheila Parks w/Center for Hand-Counted Paper Ballots
This is a non-scientific, non random report about two jurisdictions and what they did with their memory cards both before the election and after the polls closed on election night, January 19, 2010…

MI: Detroit protesters call for city clerk to quit
http://bit.ly/dz0CDg
The Call ‘Em Out group contends widespread voter fraud in last fall’s mayoral election cost accountant Tom Barrow the race against Dave Bing.

NB: Trial set in Neb. election trade secrets case
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=12180460
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A January 2011 federal trial date has been set in a case in which an Omaha elections systems firm sued former employees over trade secrets.

The Voting News Daily: Sarasota Group: investigate Kathy Dent’s no-audit decision. ACORN to end operations. Election integrity v costs

The Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections wants the state attorney and sheriff to investigate Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent’s decision not to have a spot-check audit last Tuesday of the school tax referendum results. “We must hold our elected officials accountable,” ~alliance co-founder Kindra Munt….The value of paper ballots demonstrated in Pelham MA after public recount of the March 9 election. “Neither side can say anything. Here it is, this is it. Everybody that’s important witnessed it,”~ Mike Pietrillo,resident…Costs: The Indiana SOS wants consolidated Vote Centers in all 92 counties and says they will save money. That may be true but Kreg Battles, D-Vincennes says more study is needed first: “If the election process fails, it doesn’t matter if it saved us money or not.”…Al Kolwicz of Colorado Voter Group to Boulder County on the need for preserving polling place voting: “…it is vital that election cost is not awarded a higher priority than election integrity and voter confidence.”…

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CA: Oakland ordinance to set-aside campaign aide money hurts Libby Schaaf
http://bit.ly/czEKXn

CA: The real cost of a special election to replace Newsom ($6.5M counting public finance funds) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?&entry_id=59517
San Francisco: Momentum for a special election to replace Mayor Gavin Newsom if he wins his bid for lieutenant governor has slowed considerably, largely because of its $3.5 million price tag.

CA: Internal Affairs: San Jose council rolled the dice and lost
http://www.mercurynews.com/internal-affairs/ci_14714886?nclick_check=1
…Back in August, the San Jose City Council reached a crossroads in its effort to limit “soft money” in elections by capping contributions to independent political groups…On a 6-5 vote… the council voted to keep the cap.

CO: Ivan C. Meek: No all-mail elections
http://bit.ly/dtRT4r …”Do we really want to argue that we can’t afford real elections because all-mail is cheaper? If real democracy cost a little more, do we just skip it for an administrative procedure?”~ Ivan C. Meek Louisville

CO: Polling place voting is more secure and more accurate than mail ballots
http://bit.ly/9FS1za

CO: Bullet Voting in Aspen’s IRV Election – Memo by Millard Zimet
http://bit.ly/cQ1AAm …purpose of this memo is to observe the actual voting data generated by Aspen’s May 2009 Mayoral and City Council IRV elections with regards to bullet voting, and to observe whether bullet voting impacted the outcomes…

DE: Delaware Minor Parties Get Publicity for Complaint Against Implementing Tougher Ballot Access Rules in 2010
http://bit.ly/abCjWg …The bill instantly removed several minor parties from the ballot, including the Constitution, Green, and Working Families Parties

FL: Group wants action on no-audit decision
http://bit.ly/aiGqGP SARASOTA COUNTY – The Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections wants the state attorney and sheriff to investigate Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent’s decision not to have a spot-check audit last Tuesday of the school tax referendum results.

FL: Florida Files U.S. Supreme Court Brief in Case on Petitioning at the Polls
http://bit.ly/bFNagE

HI: Hawaii Considers Law To Combat Obama ‘Birthers’
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/Hawai.obama.birth.2.1568916.html
If Passed, State Would Be Allowed To Ignore Repeated Requests For President’s Birth Certificate

IN: Election costs to rise if pilot vote center program dies
http://bit.ly/axWxGE

The Voting News Daily: Birther run for CA Sec of State. Irrational Exuberance for Internet Voting. Auto Voter Registration?

An interesting candidate to run for California Secretary of State, Orly Taitz…Oakland, CA debates whether to use funds from campaign finance towards educating voters about instant runoff voting…Wisconsin considers a bill to automatically register drivers…CNN has an “article” advocating for internet voting. (It reads like a vendor issued press release). CNN’s expert? Not a computer technologist or internet security expert but Everyone Counts CEO Lori Steel whose background is in finance. Steel worked as a private wealth advisor at Solomon Smith Barney. Steel bought Everyone Counts in 2006…

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CA: ‘Birther Queen’ Orly Taitz to Run for CA Sec. of State
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7751
If elected, plans ‘investigation’ of Obama birth certificate

CA: California Judge Tentatively Rules Against Electronic Signatures on Petitions
http://www.ballot-access.org/2010/03/19/california-judge-tentatively-rules-against-electronic-signatures-on-petitions/

CA: Should Oakland spend $255K for voter education? Mayor Dellums’ vote will be the tie breaker at city a council meeting next month.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inoakland/detail?entry_id=59490
On Tuesday night, an Oakland City Council vote about whether or not to redirect $255,000 earmarked for public campaign financing to educate Oakland residents about the city’s new voting system resulted in a tie.

CA: De La Fuente Offers New Campaign Finance Plan
http://bit.ly/b8gfTS

FL: Fla. House passes election law changes
http://bit.ly/caTi4o It would still require some groups or individuals engaged in “election-related activities” to register with the state if they raise more than $5,000, but not those focused only on issues.

MT: Montana secretary of state says more election judges needed
http://bit.ly/b8obgT
… to help deal with an anticipated shortage for the fall elections

NC: Beacon Investigates: A closer look at voter registration
http://bit.ly/9pZfAc

SC: Judge may rule on Columbia election today
Arguments for and against April 6 presented
http://bit.ly/adXBbI Columbia City Council schedules an election but makes it impossible for voters to register to vote in that election.

TN: Bill on county election administrators questioned
http://bit.ly/aChQTc State Rep. Bill Dunn’s attempt to “clarify” the duties of county election administrators is being criticized as a move to politicize the position and make it easier to fire administrators who were hired by Democrat-controlled election commissions

TX: Dallas County justice of the peace files suit, seeks recount
http://bit.ly/a9Xuvq
The suit alleges mail-in ballots were counted despite procedural violations.

TX: Bickerstaff: The real trouble with corporate cash in campaigns
http://bit.ly/b7whsK the corporate lobbyist is endowed with the implicit threat that, if the officeholder ignores the corporation’s legislative needs, the corporation may fund (directly or indirectly) a campaign against the incumbent

WI: Bill would automatically register drivers to vote
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/88416717.html
unless a voter opts out, the state would automatically sign the voter up by sharing information between different databases.

WV: West Virginia Moves on Corporate Campaign Finance Disclosure
http://bit.ly/92Wq0O West Virginia is one of over 20 states affected by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. The state used to ban corporate political expenditures. Now its ban is gone.

Internet Voting Watch

Dust Settles on Internet Voting Debate; Mea Culpa Included
http://bit.ly/cK80bF
We had some intense moments of heated disagreement and heated agreement.

The Voting News Daily: Sarasota Election Sup silence on issues. NH Town bans e-voting. Ventura on e-voting. Colombia hack contd

“Silence isn’t golden for election issue” writes Tom Lyons, FL Herald Tribune. Kathy Dent failed to announce that she would not conduct the charter mandated pre certification election audits. Other examples of Dent’s silence: when she left an entire Republican’s primary state Senate race off some absentee ballots that had been mailed; and the 2006 Fl 13 Congressional race – Dent ignored advice to warn voters about a problem with the touchscreens that could cause some voters choices to go unrecorded…New articles on Colombian vote hack which might be a denial of service issue and vendor says of course that no votes were changed….

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CA: Tentative Ruling in Ni v. Slocum Issued By Superior Court
http://bit.ly/bd65Hz
…the Court stated: “The digital image of a purportedly completed initiative petition stored on a USB flash drive does not constitute a petition or paper for purposes of determining what the Elections Office must process.”

CA: Morales pleads guilty to voter fraud
http://bit.ly/d8Zb79 …Prosecutors say Morales received two mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 special election: one addressed to Molly Janice Morales and another addressed to Molly M. LaPointe

CA: Oakland mayor may break tie on campaign finance
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_14698787
…casting a tiebreaking vote that would preserve $100,000 for the city’s public campaign financing program while diverting another $100,000 for voter education, his chief of staff said Wednesday.

FL: Lyons: Silence isn’t golden for election issue
http://bit.ly/dpdqG3 Maybe Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent really believed there wasn’t time, for the March 16 election, to obey the Sarasota County charter.
…
Why did she dare keep this problem a secret? Why didn’t Dent and the county attorney announce that, despite the court ruling, they would still not be complying with the law this time, and explain why?

GA: Georgia debates online voter registration
http://bit.ly/dcRCQe …SB 406 would help voters, save taxpayer dollars and help prevent voter fraud

GA: Polling places set to move; other Montgomery precincts face consolidation http://bit.ly/b0pJj9 …Probate Judge Reese McKinney is asking the Montgomery County Commission to consider adopting a comprehensive reorganization plan that would consolidate smaller precincts into super precincts.

NH: Voters: Count ballots by hand
Petition article to prohibit computerized vote counting passes
http://www.ledgertranscript.com/article/voters-count-ballots-by-hand
LYNDEBOROUGH — By approving a petition warrant article at Saturday’s Town Meeting, Lyndeborough voters made their town perhaps the first in the nation to formally prohibit computerized vote counting and ensure the tradition of hand counting paper ballots.

NM: Interesting Ballot Access/Qualifications Issue in New Mexico
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/015510.html

NY: Governor may call for special election by Friday
http://bit.ly/dhPVVS … the old lever machines will be in use for the last time in the special election – except in Allegany, where the districts took part in a pilot plan using the new electronic voting machines last year. The lever machines will be used because not all election workers have been trained in the use of the new electronic voting machines, which scan marked ballots and provide handicapped voters with a viewing…

National

Pew Center Issues Updated Cost Report http://blog.champaigncountyclerk.com/2010/03/18/pew-center-issues-update-cost-report/

The Voting News Daily: Sarasota officials evade election law. Colombian election hacked. GA E-Voting Oversight

“It’s time for elected officials to abide by the law the same way citizens have to abide by the law,” ~ Kindra Muntz, president of Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections. Sarasota FL Election Supervisor Kathy Dent chose not to perform the charter mandated, court upheld, post election audits. Dent said there wasn’t enough time (since Feb 11 ruling) for her to hire an auditing team…

Hackers struck the Colombia’s legislative elections, disrupting the vote count says the company hired to transmit results of Sunday’s voting over the Internet…

Georgia Questioned on E-Voting Problems and Oversight – “The other thing is when former Secretary of State Cathy Cox wanted 54 million dollars to disenfranchise everybody, money was no object. Now when we want to re-enfranchise everybody, they’re worried about the cost.” ~ Garland Favorito of VoterGA…

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CA: Yolo’s pilot voting project advances – again
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_14690519
A bill that would bring an all-mail voting pilot project to Yolo County overcame another hurdle Tuesday, passing out of the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee on a 5-0 vote.

CO: Gardner No. 2 for Balink
http://www.csindy.com/colorado/noted/Content?oid=1640739
Whoever believes that misrepresenting the truth doesn’t get you anywhere has never met John Gardner.

For more on the incompetence of John Gardner and his “certification” of Colorado voting equipment see http://www.ejfi.org/Voting/Voting-75.htm
John Gardner’s role in helping pick Accenture for the failed SCORE I voter registration database is outlined at
http://www.ejfi.org/Voting/Voting-95.htm#cocontracts
When Gardner left the Colorado Sec. of State office former Chief Information Officer Brian Balay commented on Gardner’s abilities
http://www.ejfi.org/Voting/Voting-75.htm#corruption

CT: The Risks of Mail-In and No-Excuse Absentee Voting
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2978

FL: Officials break election law in Sarasota County, FL
http://bit.ly/dyDymM

FL: Criticism comes after elections officials fail to run an audit
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100317/ARTICLE/100319743
Sarasota elections officials drew criticism from a local watchdog group Tuesday because they did not run an audit of the school tax referendum, even though a Florida Supreme Court ruling last month required it.

GA: Georgia Questioned on E-Voting Problems and Oversight
http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0611.html

GA: After battle, Senate OKs online voter registration (to house next)
http://bit.ly/9BBzEw

ID: Photo ID requirement a step closer to law
http://bit.ly/9EOkeY Voters would need to bring identification to the pollsA plan to require Idaho voters to show a photo ID when they show up to vote is a Senate vote and a governor’s signature away from becoming law.

KS: Parkinson names Biggs secretary of state
http://bit.ly/d5nJ9H “…elections need to be open and we need to do everything we can to get people to vote,”

LA: Former Independence Police Chief Pleads Guilty to Causing Deputies to Provide False Voter Registration Information*
http://www.neworleans.com/news/abc-26-news/353833.html
According to the factual basis, Maurer caused his deputies to provide false information on their voter registration forms indicating that they lived in the voting district when, in fact, they did not.

MD: ACORN videos were a sham (LTE)
http://bit.ly/9zUuXu

NM: State voting machines secure at private facility
http://newmexicoindependent.com/49738/state-voting-machines-secure-at-private-facility Automated Election Services (AES) is storing a total of 43 state-owned voting machines without charge at its Rio Rancho facility…

NM: SFR Talk: The State of the Secretary http://sfreporter.com/stories/sfr_talk_the_state_of_the_secretary/5432/

The Voting News Daily: Clay KY vote buying contd. Cost vs Ballot integrity. Fed $ for NM voting system upkeep.

“The integrity of our ballots should supersede other considerations.” ~ Mary C. Eberle, President, Coloradans for Voting Integrity op-ed in favor of keeping precinct voting in Bolder County, Colorado….Voting activist Harvie Branscomb has an OpEd about judges decision to not hear the ballot image case in Aspen…Former Clay KY official jailed for dining with witness…Budget cutbacks make voting system switch in NY tougher…Cuyahoga County to get $7.5 million in settlement over former voting equipment…Another Bill in Tennessee to Discourage Voting…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

AL: Voters react to Birmingham election change proposal
http://www.myfoxal.com/Global/story.asp?S=12146611
BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) – Birmingham voters spoke out Monday night about the prospect of putting the city council and mayor’s races on the same election cycle, giving Mayor William Bell an extra two years in office before he must run for re-election

CA: Plan to educate Oakland on ranked-choice vote
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/15/BANS1CF4F8.DTL
Many city leaders and activists worry that the so-called ranked-choice voting method will confuse voters
…
A proposal from council members Ignacio De La Fuente and Rebecca Kaplan on tonight’s council agenda suggests taking $225,000 from the city’s limited public financing program and spending it on voter education. That’s on top of the $146,000 that the Alameda County Registrar of Voters will use to educate the citizenry.

CO: Guest opinion: Keep Colorado’s voting integrityhttp://www.dailycamera.com/ci_14680272#axzz0iMCdFUqO
As County Clerks and Recorders around the state work to garner support for all-mail ballot elections, it is worth reviewing the vulnerabilities of this method of voting and how voting by mail weakens the integrity of our elections.

CO: 16 Colorado towns cancel municipal elections
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/22849899/detail.html

CO: Bravo, Marilyn
http://bit.ly/bLWkVn
Elections are unfortunately becoming shrouded in unnecessary additional secrecy, complexity and obscurity. Evidence about election quality is regularly destroyed whether or not required by law, as it is for municipal elections.

CT: One Vote, Or Three Votes They Are All Important
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2973
Two recent interesting stories in the Courant that relate to past posts, both point to the value of individual votes.

FL: Group sues for Spanish ballots – Suit cites voting rights of U.S.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2010/03/14/group-sues-for-spanish-ballots.html
…”I’ve spoken to people, (and) some of them don’t vote or don’t vote completely because they don’t understand it and they are intimidated,” Rivera said. “We want them all to understand what they are voting for.”

FL: County poll workers will get tested for literacy, blindness
http://www.cbs12.com/news/county-4724704-test-workers.html

GA: Thomas A. Wilson: No voter fraud (LTE)
http://onlineathens.com/stories/031310/let_589346844.shtml

KY: Ex-judge denies steering witness testimony
Maricle testifies for second day in vote-fraud trial
http://bit.ly/9yozhZ

KY: Former Clay official jailed for dining with witness
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/03/16/1184077/former-clay-official-to-be-jailed.html
FRANKFORT — Former Clay County school Superintendent Douglas C. Adams will spend the next several days in jail for having dinner at a Frankfort restaurant with a witness in the federal vote-fraud case against Adams and others.

NM: Federal agency pays NM’s big maintenance bill for voting machines
http://bit.ly/blmBpA
A federal agency is ponying up around $600,000 this year to provide upkeep for New Mexico’s more than 1,900 voting tabulators and voting machines.

The Voting News Daily: ES&S Final Judgement. School $ to fund Hawaii spec election. Internet voting debate

“Our leaders have slowly taken away our rights to control our elections as we mindlessly shirked our responsibilities of oversight, assuming that the government would substitute for us.” ~ Marilyn Marks in response to judge’s dismissal of case to review ballot images…A top UK election official is promoting internet voting, meanwhile citizens and groups from around the world will meet this week in Munich to debate the pros and cons of internet voting among other things…A New Hampshire town has banned any concealed vote counting…A Corporation wants seat in Congress…

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

CA: Santa Clara County elections panel has yet to meet — 15 months after inception *
http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-government/ci_14661895
On the historic day Barack Obama was elected president, dozens of electronic voting machines for the disabled broke down in Santa Clara County. Monitors observed poll workers inappropriately asking voters for ID and failing to assist non-English speakers, as required by law…

CO: A blow to election transparency (Guest Opinion)
http://bit.ly/9VQMqX
In recent years, Aspenites have been overlooking their rights and responsibilities to oversee their local democratic process

CO: Worcester comments miss the mark (LTE)
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/139693
the greater issue is the importance of all citizens in a free society to have the opportunity to question our government.

CT: Testimony: Rescanning On Same Type Scanner Would Gut Post-Election Audit
http://www.ctvoterscount.org/?p=2961

FL: Florida: Group sues for Spanish-language ballots
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2010/03/14/group-sues-for-spanish-ballots.html

HI: School repair fund raided to help pay for Hawaii special election
http://bit.ly/btOylH

HI: Military voting law could affect Hawaii primary
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/03/ap_military_hawaii_primary_031410/

IL: Local officials eye probe of voting machine merger
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2086498,2_1_AU06_VOTING_S1-100306.article
But for Kane County, which uses competitor Hart InterCivic, the worry is that a new mega-company will drive Kane’s vendor out of business.
…
Among the concerns raised in the 22-page complaint is a mention of DuPage County Election Commission Executive Director Robert Saar. Saar is cited as an example of the problematic revolving door between public officials and vendor personnel.

According to the complaint, Saar was receiving royalties for a polling place device while DuPage was doing business with the company that sold the device. Saar helped write the software for “Ask Ed,” an election device. He failed to disclose this relationship to the county, the complaint says.

MA: Millville hopes to recover from election mistake
http://bit.ly/bqhPkZ

MD: Campaign stunt launches a corporate ‘candidate’ for Congress
http://bit.ly/9esnrp
William Klein, a “hired gun” who has been enlisted as Murray Hill’s campaign manager, said the firm appears to be the first “corporate person” to run for office and is promising a spirited campaign that “puts people second, or even third.”

MD: Murray Hill Incorporated is Running for Congress
Corporations are people too!
http://murrayhillincforcongress.com/

MD: Murray Hill the Corporate Candidate
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/03/your-daily-dose-of-news-12.html

NH: New Hampshire Town Citizens Prohibit Concealed Vote Counting by Computers or Any Other Method http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7744

NY: Owego elections revive hand-counts
Lack of scanner training forces move
http://bit.ly/cXHx9m Once the training is completed, programming will be done by county election board officials

WA: Gregoire inks ballot design improvements (House Bill 2496)
http://bit.ly/cgFXuY

The Voting News Daily: Antitrust not enough.MD paper ballots on hold. NM SOS mismanaged say former employees

The “Un-Merger” is a step in the right direction. But there’s more work to be done. ES&S election monopoly blocked. Still at least 17 ways to steal or botch your next election…Ballot brouhaha in Aspen Colorado….Hans A. von Spakovsky appointed to Fairfax VA election board…

“How can Florida, North Carolina and so many other states already have op scan, but we can’t do it here in Maryland?” ~ Gail Ewing of Potomac is a retired at-large Montgomery CO. Council member. The answer is – Linda Lamone. Maryland had the money to buy the optical scanners back in 2006. Then Governor Ehrlich allocated $28.5 million for optical-scanners in March 2006. But State Election Chief Linda Lamone spent the money on Diebold electronic poll books instead, causing nothing but problems for judges when the poll books malfunctioned. Lamone was later censured by the next Governor O’ Malley for allowing Diebold to use her picture and endorsement in sales literature featuring the poll books.

All this and more in today’s voting news below….

AK: Lessmann resigns from election commission
http://thecabin.net/news/local/2010-03-12/lessmann-resigns-election-commission
In a second news release issued by Lessmann on Friday, he calls for the resignation of Faulkner County Clerk Melinda Reynolds, stating that, “He felt (Reynolds’) admission of violation of election laws relative to absence ballots (left him with) no choice,” and that, “Her partisan politics have driven his decisions.”

AZ: Official: Voters Given Wrong Ballot *
http://www.kpho.com/news/22804460/detail.html

CA: Pen And Paper Signatures v. Electronic Signatures
http://bit.ly/ctnUlL

CA: Proposal would divert funding for voter education
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_14658959
“…we question whether Oakland should be spending extra money on a separate voter education effort,” (League of Women Voters opposing)

CA: Spanjian Exits District 8 Race – Who Benefits?
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=7903#more
But Prozan’s success depends largely on how much District 8 voters use Ranked Choice Voting. It’s easy to see Prozan and Wiener split the “moderate” vote with Mandelman squeaking ahead, but enough voters casting a second-choice vote for the same candidate could upend the conventional wisdom.

CO: Ballot brouhaha
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/letter-editor/139658
Why has the city been so aggressively holding back anonymous May 5 images of ballots?

CO: Letter to Aspen City Council regarding Dismissal of Marks v. Koch and attached letter to editor http://bit.ly/dfv4Mb Harvie Branscomb

CO: Be mindful when voting
http://bit.ly/8YiJNY
If a citizen receives a mail ballot, he or she must use that ballot to vote

IN: Bill to continue vote centers hits snag
Amendment could bring down measure to keep 3-county pilot program going
http://www.pal-item.com/article/20100311/NEWS01/3110305/1008

KY: Kentucky’s Disturbing Disenfranchisement Numbers
http://bit.ly/aQEu18
A new report by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights finds that nearly one-in-four African Americans has lost the right to vote in Kentucky.

MD: Gail Ewing: Accountable voting put on hold
http://www.gazette.net/stories/03122010/policol175947_32553.php
Op scan advocates such as Rebecca Wilson, co-founder of Save Our Votes, cry foul, saying the state Board of Elections “low-balled the cost of keeping the touch screens and overestimated the costs for op scan” for the governor last fall. They purport that bringing the new system on board actually would cost less than keeping the touch screens…

MI: Court: Voting rolls are public record
http://www.record-eagle.com/statenews/local_story_070072546.html