The Voting News Daily: DoJ Clears GA Voter ID Law, Egypt Looks to India for Voting Machines

GA: Secretary of State Georgia’s voter ID requirement cleared by DoJ – Rome News-Tribune

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced today that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) precleared Georgia’s law and related regulations which require new voter registration applicants to provide evidence of United States citizenship with their voter registration applications. The law is Act 143 of the 2009 Georgia General Assembly, also known as Senate Bill 86. “This law is a common sense enhancement to our voter registration process that will prevent non-citizens from voting in Georgia’s elections,” Kemp said. “Every ballot cast by a non-citizen erases a ballot cast by an eligible Georgia voter. The voter roll protections in Act 143, our photo ID requirement for in-person voting, and our triple-signature verification procedure for mail-in ballots make Georgia a national model for election security and integrity.” Act 143 was signed into law by Governor Sonny Perdue on May 5, 2009 and requires those registering to vote to submit evidence of United States citizenship with their applications. There are many forms of acceptable identification, including a Georgia driver’s license number or identification card number, birth certificate, U.S. passport, U.S. naturalization documents or alien registration number, and a copy of a driver’s license or identification card from any state whose cards comply with the requirements of the federal REAL ID Act of 2005. Full Article

Egypt: Envoy seeks Inia’s chief election commissione’s help in conducting polls – The Times of India

Egypt’s ambassador to India Khaled el Bakly met chief election commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi recently, seeking assistance in conducting elections after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. Parliamentary elections will be held in Egypt in September, followed by presidential polls in November. During the meeting with Quraishi, Bakly wanted to know about various aspects of election management and electronic voting machines (EVMs). “He asked how fast we can provide EVMs in case they decide to use them,” said a senior election commission (EC) official. The EC has sent Bakly documents on skills, experience and technical know-how in conducting elections in India. Bakly also wanted to know about Indian Institute of Democrat and Election Management (IIDEM), which the Commission proposes to set up.IIDEM will offer assistance and support, training and educational materials and consultancy service in election management. “We get a lot of requests from various countries to train their poll officials,” said Quraishi. Full Article

Montana: Montana Lawmakers end same-day voter registration | New Times

The Montana Legislature has passed a bill that would end same-day voter registration and moving the last day voters could register to the Friday before Election Day.

The Senate gave final approval to House Bill 180 with a 28-22 vote on Friday. The House had passed it 67-33 in February. Republican sponsor Rep. Champ Edmunds of Missoula argued the current system of allowing people to register on Election Day opens the system to fraud.

Kazakhstan: Observers slam Kazakh leader’s 95% election romp | Agence France Presse

President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Monday extended his rule over Kazakhstan into a third decade with a crushing 95 percent victory in elections that observers said fell well short of democratic standards.

The Central Election Commission said the first official results showed the incumbent had won 95.5 percent of the vote on mass turnout of 89.9 percent — both figures beating Nazarbayev’s performance in his last re-election in 2005. The victory gives the 70-year-old — who has ruled Kazakhstan since even before the collapse of the Soviet Union — a third decade of power and keep any uncertainty over who will one day succeed him on the backburner.

Minnesota: St. Louis County Minnesota Board to debate need for voter ID cards | Duluth News Tribune

Steve O'Neil

St. Louis County Board Chairman Steve O'Neil

St. Louis County commissioners will weigh in on the national battle of voter identification cards today when they consider a resolution opposing a proposed state law requiring photo voter ID cards. Legislation has advanced in St. Paul this session that would require anyone voting in Minnesota to have a special voter ID card if they don’t have a valid driver’s license with their current address.

The issue hits home for the County Board because counties, towns and cities could have to foot the bill under the state proposal, board chairman Steve O’Neil said. The Duluth City Council last month passed a similar resolution opposing the voter card legislation. O’Neil, who introduced the resolution, said the card requirement will disenfranchise poor voters and cost county property taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars “to solve an imaginary problem.”

South Carolina: South Carolina voting machines to get closer probe | The Sun News

Photo detail

Photo by Robert Behre. Since 2004, South Carolina voters have used this type of iVotronic touch-screen voting machine.

A few dozen of the Lowcountry’s elected officials appear concerned enough about South Carolina’s voting machines to urge the legislature to look into them.

Frank Heindel, a Charleston businessman, has spent months investigating the machines’ performance, and outlined his findings Monday to the board of the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments. Board members agreed to prepare a resolution asking the General Assembly to have the Legislative Audit Council probe the machines.

Egypt: Egypt envoy seeks India’s help in conducting polls | The Times of India

Egypt’s ambassador to India Khaled el Bakly met chief election commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi recently, seeking assistance in conducting elections after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. Parliamentary elections will be held in Egypt in September, followed by presidential polls in November.

During the meeting with Quraishi, Bakly wanted to know about various aspects of election management and electronic voting machines (EVMs). “He asked how fast we can provide EVMs in case they decide to use them,” said a senior election commission (EC) official.  The EC has sent Bakly documents on skills, experience and technical know-how in conducting elections in India.

North Carolina: Photo requirement scrapped in North Carolina voter ID bill | ncnn.com

David_lewis

North Carolina Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett)

Republican state lawmakers say they have removed the photo requirement from a bill that would make voters show ID in order to cast a ballot. The latest draft eliminates language that would require a photo ID. Instead, individuals would now be allowed to use a county-issued voter registration card or documents such as a utility bill or bank statement. Bill co-sponsor Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, said lawmakers have made great progress in working with all of the interested parties. “

We’ve tried to address those concerns to make sure that we can increase the amount of progress voters have in the elections process while at the same time making sure that everyone entitled to vote gets to vote.”

Colorado: Voting bill targeting alleged illegal immigrant votes faces outcry in Colorado | American Independent

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler

A bill designed by Secretary of State Scott Gessler and sponsored by Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker, to ensure the integrity of the Colorado voting system is being called a means to reduce voter participation by voters’ rights advocates. Gessler said his bill fixes what he sees as a serious problem of ineligible voters on the voter rolls.

The bill would give the secretary of state the authority to check names on voter registration lists against state and federal records that provide information on immigration status. In those cases where the secretary of state’s office determines that there is enough information to believe a person is not eligible to vote, the person would be given 90 days to provide evidence they are eligible. Individuals could prove their citizenship by showing photocopies of a passport, birth certificate, naturalization papers or through other methods.

Iowa: Iowa Secretary of State Schultz says Democrats killed voter ID | Des Moines Register

Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz issued a statement Friday criticizing Iowa Senate Democrats for killing his proposal to require all Iowa voters to show a photo identification card before they vote in an effort to prevent fraud.

“It is unfortunate that Senate Democrats have decided to kill a common-sense bill,” said Schultz, a Republican who had made the ID plan a cornerstone of his campaign last fall to oust incumbent Democrat Michael Mauro.

West Virginia: Harrison County West Virginia Commission Approves Purchase of AutoMARK | WOWKTV.com

The Harrison County Commission has approved an eleventh-hour purchase of 80 new electronic voting machines. County Clerk Susan Thomas has been waiting patiently since the end of January for Commission to approve the purchase of new AutoMARK voting machines.

Harrison County has been using the iVotronic machines for about five years. The state’s contract with the company that makes them expired in 2010. So Republican and Democratic representatives visited Lewis County earlier this year to see the AutoMARK machines in action; both parties approved of the easy-to-use machine. IVotronic machines are entirely computerized, but the AutoMARK system will fill out a paper ballot for the voter. Supporters of the new system say the iVotronic machines were daunting for some voters and could have impacted voter turnout.