The Voting News Daily: Wisconsin Recount to Begin Wednesday, Proposed bills would make voting harder for many Floridians

WI: Wisconsin Supreme Court recount begins Wednesday, required to be done by May 9 – StarTribune.com

The recount in the state Supreme Court race will begin Wednesday and barring a court-ordered extension, must be finished by May 9. Wisconsin’s nonpartisan Government Accountability Board discussed the recount procedure Monday with local election officials from nearly all 72 counties. Given the rarity of a statewide recount, clerks on the conference call peppered board attorneys with questions about everything from what to do about challenged ballots to what to do with observers seen holding pens that could alter a vote. Challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg asked for the recount after results showed she lost to incumbent Justice David Prosser by 7,316 votes, roughly one-half of 1 percent of the 1.5 million votes cast in the April 5 election. The recount is the first in a race involving candidates since 1858. The only other one, in 1989, involved a referendum. Full Article

FL: Proposed bills would make voting harder for many Floridians – Sun Sentinel

College students seeking to vote at their campus precinct will find it harder to do. So will women who’ve changed their name but not re-registered before an election. The time for early voting would be cut from 14 days to six. Groups like the League of Women Voters will find it tougher to register voters. And citizens attempting to amend the constitution will have to gather more than 600,000 signatures in two years instead of four. All these changes are in Republican-backed bills steaming through the Florida Legislature, despite vigorous opposition from county supervisors of elections as well as Democrats, who’ve labeled them GOP attempts at “voter suppression.” The election supervisors worry that the changes — after two relatively problem-free elections — will inconvenience and frustrate voters. “If there’s something we don’t want to happen, it’s that registered voters lose confidence in the process if they’re faced with obstacles when they try to exercise their right to vote,” said Evelyn Perez-Verdia, spokeswoman for the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office. Full Article

Chad: Chad opposition boycotts presidential election | BBC News

The main opposition figures are boycotting after their demands for electoral reform were not met. There are concerns that the boycott could affect voters turnout.

Mr Deby, who has faced two attempted coups since the last polls, has recently mended relations with Sudan, where rebel fighters were based. The BBC’s former correspondent in Chad, Celeste Hicks, says this has helped to restore security and it is significant that Monday’s election is taking place in relative peace.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Supreme Court recount begins Wednesday, required to be done by May 9 | StarTribune.com

The recount in the state Supreme Court race will begin Wednesday and barring a court-ordered extension, must be finished by May 9. Wisconsin’s nonpartisan Government Accountability Board discussed the recount procedure Monday with local election officials from nearly all 72 counties. Given the rarity of a statewide recount, clerks on the conference call peppered board attorneys with questions about everything from what to do about challenged ballots to what to do with observers seen holding pens that could alter a vote.

Challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg asked for the recount after results showed she lost to incumbent Justice David Prosser by 7,316 votes, roughly one-half of 1 percent of the 1.5 million votes cast in the April 5 election. The recount is the first in a race involving candidates since 1858. The only other one, in 1989, involved a referendum.

Editorials: Jay Weiner: Voter ID issue advances at Capitol, but facts continue to get in the way | MinnPost

Jay WeinerA funny thing happened recently to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on its way to nailing an alleged illegal voter. Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigative arm found that clerical mistakes are sometimes made and that people can be accused of trying to vote illegally when they actually didn’t.

The investigators, with the aid of Hennepin County elections officials, learned that clerks at the state Department of Vehicle Services can wrongly check off boxes and that workers at voting locations can incorrectly mark a voter roster.

Indiana: Judge orders recount panel to explain Charlie White lag | The Indianapolis Star

A Marion County judge has ordered the IndianaRecount Commission and the State Republican chairman to explain why they haven’t moved quickly to resolve Democrats’ challenge to Charlie White’s eligibility to serve as secretary of state.

On April 7, Marion Circuit Court Judge Louis F. Rosenberg ruled the Democrats’ challenge is valid and told the Recount Commission to move forward with it quickly.

Florida: Proposed bills would make voting harder for many Floridians | Sun Sentinel

College students seeking to vote at their campus precinct will find it harder to do. So will women who’ve changed their name but not re-registered before an election. The time for early voting would be cut from 14 days to six.

Groups like the League of Women Voters will find it tougher to register voters. And citizens attempting to amend the constitution will have to gather more than 600,000 signatures in two years instead of four.