The Voting News Daily: Voting Rights Settlement in NM, Voter ID debate in WI, NE, IRV on ballotin CO
CO: Voters to weigh in on ranked voting | coloradoan.com | The Coloradoan
A question on the April 5 municipal ballot asks whether the city should change its long-standing system for conducting City Council elections – as in whoever gets the most votes wins – to the process known as ranked voting, or instant-runoff election. In races for posts such as for mayor with three or more candidates, ranked voting would allow voters to list their preferences for candidates in order – as in one, two and three. When the votes are tallied, if a candidate receives the majority of first-place votes, the contest is decided. If no candidate has a majority, the ballots are recounted with votes for the last-place candidate reassigned to the remaining candidates based on who was listed as those voters’ second choice.The recounts, or runoffs, continue until a candidate receives a clear majority of votes. Throughout the counting process, the principle of one person, one vote is maintained. Read More
NE: Opponents say voter ID bill could disenfranchise voters and cost state money – The Journal Star
In the mind of Fremont Sen. Charlie Janssen, his proposal to require people to show photo IDs when they vote is a way to head off voter fraud and ensure Nebraska uses the “best practices” when holding elections. But opponents of the measure (LB239) say it would disenfranchise some voters — particularly the poor, the elderly and minorities — who do not have driver’s licenses by making them pay the $26.50 the state charges to issue a photo ID. They say requiring people to buy a state ID in order to vote would amount to an illegal “poll tax.” Poll taxes came into being, particularly in southern states, in the 1800s after enactment of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution gave blacks the right to vote. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually struck down the practice. Read More
NM: Federal judge approves NM voting rights settlement – KWES NewsWest 9
A federal judge has approved a consent order aimed at ensuring New Mexicans have a chance to register to vote at public assistance offices. The consent order outlines procedures state Human Services Department officials must follow to offer voter registration forms to people applying for public assistance benefits. The order was approved last week. A coalition of voting rights groups sued in July 2009 over compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, which lets people register to vote at various state agencies. Read More
NY: Cuomo signs bill to let villages continue to use old lever voting machines | The Ithaca Journal
Villages that run their own elections can continue to use mechanical-lever voting machines until the end of next year, under legislation signed Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Villages asked for more time to switch over to the state’s new voting system of paper ballots and optical scanners. The new equipment was in use statewide for the first time last year. Some villages that run their own elections faced obstacles switching to the new technology.