The Voting News Daily: CA SoS Bowen to run for Congress, Vote Centers in IN

CA: Secretary of State Debra Bowen eyeing Harman’s congressional seat – Capitol Alert

Secretary of State Debra Bowen is considering running for the congressional seat expected to be vacated by Democratic Rep. Jane Harman. “She is very, very seriously considering running for Congress,” Bowen campaign consultant Steve Barkan said. “It’s brand new news, and so she needs to take all factors into consideration.” News broke today that Harman, 65, will leave office to take a job as president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, setting the stage for a special election in the 36th Congressional District. Bowen hails from Marina Del Rey, which is part of the district, and represented the area in the state Assembly and Senate from 1992 to 2006. She will be termed out of her job as the state elections chief in 2014. Read More

CA-36: Bowen In, Winograd Wants to Speak to Her | FDL News Desk

California Democratic Party Chair John Burton sent a courtesy letter to delegates of the party letting them know that Jane Harman has resigned from Congress, and he broke some news in the process: As of the sending of this email, the only candidate that has officially informed the California Democratic Party that they are running in the 36th congressional district is Debra Bowen. Bowen has been our Secretary of State since 2007 and she is a former State Senator and State Assemblymember from the area.

At the time, Bowen hadn’t officially announced or made any statement on her candidacy other than saying she was thinking about it. But last night an Act Blue page went live. Robert Cruickshank reflects the excitement of many in the grassroots at this prospect. Read More

DE: Dewey Beach Eyeing Electronic Voter Registration – WBOC-TV 16

Dewey Beach is considering a plan to convert its voter registration system from paper records to electronic files. Mayor Diane Hanson points out that the town is small and lacks some efficiencies that larger cities have. Read More

IN: Vote center bill gets final approval | Journal and Courier

Senate Bill 32 cleared the floor of the House of Representatives on Monday and now heads to Gov. Mitch Daniels. The vote was 68-28. Barring any last-minute hiccups in the governor’s office, the new law will give every Indiana county the option to use centralized polling places instead of the traditional precinct voting system. Daniels had indicated he’ll support the legislation. Read More

IN: Bill to consolidate Indiana voting sites moves to governor | The Courier-Journal

All counties could centralize their voting operations into fewer locations to save money and reduce the number of volunteers needed on Election Day under a bill the House passed and sent to Gov. Mitch Daniels on Monday.Senate Bill 32 requires a unanimous vote by the three-member Board of Elections to use so-called vote centers, rather than requiring Hoosiers to cast ballots at precinct level locations. It passed 68-28. Read More

IA: Straight-party voting should be illegal in Iowa, Republican senator says | Des Moines Register Staff Blogs

Iowans should not be allowed to vote a straight-party ticket, a Republican state senator believes.

The Voting News Daily: CA Bill would return June Primary, IN Vote Center Bill, Voter ID in MN and NC

CA: Bill would return California’s 2012 presidential primary to June – Los Angeles Times

For years, Sacramento lawmakers worked to give California voters a bigger say in national politics by scheduling the state’s presidential primary as early as they could. The series of moves culminated in 2008 with a Feb. 5 vote, the earliest in state history. But now a legislative effort is underway to move the California primary back where it started — to June, on the last day of the 2012 nominating season — as a way to save tens of millions of dollars. “That’s a lot of money,” said the bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Paul Fong (D-Cupertino), “at a time when every penny counts.” Read More

CA: Brown’s budget includes cuts that could jeopardize voting by mail – bellinghamherald.com

Nearly 5 million voters chose to cast their ballots by mail when California Gov. Jerry Brown was elected in November, representing almost half of all votes cast in the statewide contest. Now election officials are warning that a piece of Brown’s budget proposal could put the increasingly popular form of balloting – and the integrity of the voting process – in jeopardy. As part of his plan to close a projected $25.4 billion deficit, Brown wants to stop reimbursing local governments for the costs of complying with various state laws, including the 1978 law that gives all California voters the option of casting their ballot by mail. Read More

CA: Citizens’ Advisory Commission on Elections Agenda – SCC Public Portal

The Santa Clara County Citizens’ Advisory Commission on Elections will host a presentation of the Trachtenberg Election Verification System (TEVS) on Thursday, February 17, 2011, at 6:00 p.m., in the Isaac Newton Senter Auditorium, First Floor, County Government Center, 70 West Hedding, San Jose. Read More

CA: Rep. Jane Harman to resign from Congress, sets up special election – Washington Post

California Rep. Jane Harman (D) will resign from Congress, a surprise announcement that will set off a special election in her 36th district. “This is an excruciating decision because the distinction of representing the smartest constituents on earth will never be surpassed — nor will my relationships with my exceptional staff and colleagues in Congress,” said Harman in an email sent to supporters today. Harman added that she had filed paperwork with the House to let them know she was “in discussions to succeed former Rep. Lee Hamilton as President and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.” Read More

GA: Lawmakers split on shortening early voting – Times-Georgian

Georgia legislators representing Douglas County are split along party lines on legislation to shorten the early voting period. Local Democrats say they want to give voters an much opportunity possible to cast ballots, while Republicans say cutting the number of days would still allow plenty of time to vote and save small cities and counties money on election costs. House Bill (HB) 92, sponsored by Rep. Mark Hamilton (R-Cumming), would shorten the early voting period from 45 to 21 days, but would require polls to be open at least one Saturday during the early voting period.

The Voting News Daily: Bangladesh presses e-voting, photo ID measures debated in CO, MN, and elsewhere

Photo ID legislation leads election news coverage, today’s highlights being a hearing before a Minnesota House panel, and a Colorado House committee’s vote in favor of a photo ID bill. Bangladesh’s government has announced its intention to adopt electronic voting for future elections.

All this and more in today’s Voting News below.

CO: Voter ID Proposal Gains Steam In Colo. House

A requirement that voters show photo IDs at the polls before casting ballots has cleared a Colorado House committee for the first time after years of debate. Read More

FL: Elections chief Bucher’s goal: Results by midnight on election nights in PB Co.

Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher promised yet again today to halt the county’s decade-long struggle to return election results quickly and accurately, recapping for the nonpartisan Palm Beach County Voters Coalition the initiatives that she said will ease that harsh spotlight and take her office “off the radar.” Read More

GA: Secretary of state visits Valdosta – Live, Local, Late Breaking news, weather, and sports

Georgia’s secretary of state says he supports giving voters plenty of opportunity to vote, but he wants to lower the costs of elections. Read More

MN: Voter ID bill stirs debate in committee hearing | Minnesota Public Radio News

Two bills that would require Minnesotans to show a photo ID before they can vote got their first formal airings at the Capitol Thursday. A House panel heard advocates say it would be a basic protection against vote fraud. But others said it would keep people away from the polls. Read More

MN: MinnPost – Technological glitches disrupt GOP pitch for high-tech voting system

As part of her massive bill that includes the controversial provision requiring voters to have a photo ID, Kiffmeyer proposes that an electronic roster would be far better than the current system of voters signing in on Election Day. Read More

MN: Dayton unconvinced on photo ID | Capitol View | Minnesota Public Radio

Gov. Mark Dayton says a bill that would require Minnesotans to show photo identification before voting as “a solution looking for a problem.” But Dayton is stopping short of a veto threat. Read More

MS: Lowndes absentee balloting questioned by Miss. secretary of state – The Dispatch

An abnormality in absentee voting during Lowndes County’s November circuit court elections caught the eye of the secretary of state’s office. Read More

NM: GOP lawmaker proposes voter ID requirement – KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com |

Rep. Dianne Hamilton, a Silver City Republican, introduced a bill on Wednesday to require New Mexico voters to show a government identification card with a photograph, such as a driver’s license. Native Americans could use a tribally issued document as identification. Read More

NC: Voter photo IDs will take money state doesn’t have | The Asheville Citizen-Times | citizen-times.com

Do individuals show up in massive numbers attempting to impersonate other individuals and steal their votes?There’s absolutely no evidence that’s the case. Read More

ND: Fargo Rep.

The Voting News Daily: SC election officials point to human error in ballot discrepancy; vote by mail bill fails in MT House; early WV primary likely

The Photo ID debate shows no sign of cooling in TX, WI, and NC. In SC, the state Election Commission’s investigation concludes that Colleton County ballot discrepancies resulted from human error. In Montana, vote by mail legislation suffers an unexpected reversal, and in WV lawmakers seem likely to advance the gubernatorial primary to May 14.

All this and more in today’s Voting News below.

FL: Many ballots remained silent on Sink and Scott | HeraldTribune.com

Florida’s charged campaign for governor — which featured waves of negative television ads — might have turned off a higher number of voters last year. Read More

IL: Change of Subject: The icy blizzard thaws my heart about early voting & ‘dibs’

Election officials say there’s no precedent for postponing an election here on account of weather, so voter turnout in Chicago would almost certainly be far lower than the pathetic 27.3 percent we got 12 months ago when two whisker-close races for Illinois governor were at the top of the ballot. Read More

MA: Judge rules that two tied in Central Mass. House race – The Boston Globe

A Worcester Superior Court judge ruled yesterday that a hotly contested election for state representative in Central Massachusetts is a tie, an exceedingly rare result, and ordered a new election. Read More

MT: The Laurel Outlook:News

What a difference a day makes. One day after giving preliminary approval to vote-by-mail balloting in all but school elections, the House reversed itself and torpedoed the idea. Read More

NC: Alleged lawbreaking, impropriety and fraud undermine confidence in Forsyth elections

The Forsyth County Board of Elections will hold an open hearing on Feb. 7 to consider alleged election law violations. Read More

NC: ISS – Report: Voter ID law ‘unaffordable’ for North Carolina

Today, Facing South and the Institute for Southern Studies released an analysis [pdf] showing that a voter ID bill proposed by North Carolina Republicans could cost the state $20 million or more over the next three years, exacerbating the state’s $3.7 billion budget gap. Read More

OH: Auroraadvocate.com – Our View: New voting machines are good deal for Portage Co.

The Portage County Board of Elections has done the right thing in deciding to acquire for free 99 new voting machines, formerly manufactured by Diebold.

The machines became available following a settlement between Diebold and the state of Ohio, which under former Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner demonstrated the machines had issues that entailed accuracy and ease of invasion by outsiders. Read More

OH: Ohio secretary of state supports appeal – 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio –

Ohio’s top elections official wants a federal court ruling appealed in a disputed election for a juvenile court judge in the county that includes Cincinnati. Read More

Panel: Human error, not voting machines, skewed Colleton County election results | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC – News, Sports, Entertainment

Colleton County’s election results were skewed by human error that had nothing to do with the electronic voting machines, according to an investigation by the S.C.

The Voting News Daily: WV eyes May 14 primary; TX Senate passes photo ID bill

The Texas Senate has enacted photo ID legislation; the bill now moves to the state House. Palm Beach County, FL looks to use modem reporting of ballot-scanner results. Interantionally, the use of EVMs is expanding in India’s Uttar Pradesh state.

All this and more in today’s Voting News below.

FL: Broward commissioners scrap plans for elections headquarters, restart search for new site – South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Broward County taxpayers no longer can afford a new $22 million elections headquarters, and the county Tuesday walked away from a deal that was made at the height of the real estate market. Read More

FL: Broward Politics | Sun Sentinel Blogs | Broward voters, candidates, might wait years for elections hub

Broward County taxpayers no longer can afford a $22 million brand new elections headquarters, and the county Tuesday walked away from a deal that was made at the height of the real estate market. Read More

FL: Palm Beach County plans modems for voting machines – Florida Wires – MiamiHerald.com

The county’s supervisor of elections says she plans to add modems to voting machines to cut the time it takes to tally votes. That comes after a gubernatorial election in which the county, along with others, was criticized for its slow count. Read More

FL: Thousands skipped governor’s race on ’10 ballot | HeraldTribune.com

The state Division of Elections report – given to state lawmakers after every major election – is designed to evaluate voting systems. It concluded the higher number of people skipping the governor’s race was not related to voting technology. Read More

IA: New voter ID bill may hurt students – The Daily Iowan

Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett estimated the program would cost Iowa $1 million annually. Slockett said auditors feel they were “misled” by House Republicans. County auditors plan to talk this week with experts from other states, and they will discuss their findings on Feb. 11. Slockett said the they were led to believe Republicans would wait until after this meeting to enact legislation. Read More

KS: Supporters of voter ID bill testify in Topeka | State Government | Wichita Eagle

The secretary of state and the ranking Democrat on the House Elections Committee traded jabs Monday over a bill to force new voter registrants to prove their citizenship and to require all voters to provide photo identification. Read More

MN: Voter photo ID battle begins anew | kare11.com

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie Wednesday suggested the cost of installing the new electronic roster books at 5,000 polling places across Minnesota would cost $20 million. Democrats pointed out that the state of Missouri spent $18 million printing new ID’s alone. Read More

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

he bill, HF210, will be heard by the Government Operations and Elections Committee on Feb. 3. Read More

MO: Missouri Senate panel advances voter photo ID measures – KansasCity.com

A Missouri Senate committee has advanced a pair of constitutional amendments that could lead to a photo identification requirement for voters.