Florida: Florida Legislature passes dramatic overhaul of state election law | South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Florida lawmakers passed a dramatic overhaul of state election law Thursday night, a move that GOP legislators say will bring integrity to the process and one that Democrats counter will disenfranchise voters across the state.

The measure, a major rewrite to the laws that govern the state’s elections, passed 79-37. Among other things, the measure (HB 1355) would limit voters’ ability to change their address at the polls, change third-party voter registration rules and make it more difficult for citizen groups to put amendments on the ballot.

Editorials: Jepthah Gathaka  | The management of five elections in one wi……ll be an impossible undertaking in Kenya | Daily Nation

The new Constitution provides that the election of President, MPs and the Senate, the county governor and the county ward representatives be held ‘‘on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year’’. The management of five elections in one General Election in one day will be a Herculean task for the proposed Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

This will be against the spirit of the Constitution as provided for in Article 86, for it will be a recipe for chaos. It will be very difficult for voters to cast ballots in five boxes in one session. Even in the so-called developed democracies, managing and participating in five elections is quite difficult.

The Voting News Daily: Florida House passes election code overhaul, No tweeting election results in Canada?

FL: Florida House passes elections law overhaul – St. Petersburg Times

The Florida House passed a sweeping overhaul of election laws Thursday that Republicans say will streamline voting machinery and Democrats say will make it harder for people to vote in the nation’s biggest battleground state in 2012. Passage on a 79-37 party-line vote followed two days of intensely partisan debate — a harbinger of next year’s presidential election when Florida’s newly increased 29 electoral votes and all 160 legislative seats will be at stake in a pivotal reapportionment year. But the closest that any Republican lawmaker came to stating the obvious — invoking President Barack Obama’s name — was a passing reference to preventing “the Chicago method” of voting more than once. In another sign of the muscle-flexing power of Republican supermajorities in both houses, the GOP is making changes to voting laws for the next election, and the vastly outnumbered Democrats are powerless to stop it. “This is a great country. Our vote is precious, and we’re going to protect it,” said Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, sponsor of the bill, HB 1355. Neither Florida’s election supervisors nor the secretary of state requested the most controversial changes, which are among the most hotly debated since the aftermath of the 2000 presidential recount. Full Article

Canada: Canadians can’t Tweet election results – Dalje.com

Canadians who post local results from the May 2 national election online before polling stations close in all six time zones face fines, election law states. The upcoming election is the first one in which huge numbers of people are using such Internet social sites as Facebook and Twitter, but the 1938 Canada Elections Act forbids anyone from revealing election results before all polls in the country have closed to avoid creating a bias in western regions. The law provides for a fine of as much as $25,000 for premature disclosure of vote tabulations, the Calgary Herald reported. Elections Canada spokesman James Hale told the newspaper regardless of its age, the law would be enforced. “As long as the law is on the books, like any other law, it has to be obeyed,” he said. Full Article

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Supreme Court challenger files for recount | POLITICO.com

Charging that voting “anomalies” were “widespread,” the liberal challenger in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race filed papers Wednesday afternoon requesting a recount in the close election that has her trailing a conservative incumbent by less than 0.5 percent.

JoAnne Kloppenburg arrived at the state Government Accountability Board’s office in Madison barely an hour before the 5 p.m. local time deadline by which she had to ask for a recount or concede defeat. According to the vote count finalized by the state last week, she trails Justice David Prosser by 7,316 votes out of nearly 1.5 million cast in the April 5 election.

Ghana: No e-voting in 2012, declares Electoral Commission | ModernGhana.com

Ghana will not be using the e-voting technology for the 2012 polls, the Electoral Commission (EC) has declared. The declaration is in response to a campaign for the country to adopt electronic voting for future polls.

The system allows eligible voters to select their preferred candidate by pressing a button on a computer. Campaigners say the system ensures greater transparency. But after meeting the various political parties Tuesday, the EC said it would rather implement the biometric registration.

Canada: Canadians can’t Tweet election results | dalje.com

Canadians who post local results from the May 2 national election online before polling stations close in all six time zones face fines, election law states.

The upcoming election is the first one in which huge numbers of people are using such Internet social sites as Facebook and Twitter, but the 1938 Canada Elections Act forbids anyone from revealing election results before all polls in the country have closed to avoid creating a bias in western regions.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Agency Sues Over Supreme Court Election Recount | Businessweek

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board asked a judge to allow the use of electronic voting memory cartridges to speed the recount in a contested Supreme Court election, even if that use might erase the voting data.

The nonpartisan agency filed the lawsuit today in state court in Madison, naming as defendants incumbent Supreme Court Justice David T. Prosser Jr. and his challenger, JoAnne Kloppenburg.

Wisconsin: State Supreme Court election recount could be costly | Leader-Telegram

It’s going to cost Wisconsin’s taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to more than $1 million to find out who will be the next state Supreme Court justice. Assistant attorney general JoAnne Kloppenburg on Wednesday said she will seek a full, statewide recount of the April 5 election in which she is challenging Justice David Prosser for a 10-year term on the bench.

“There are two reasons for this recount,” she said. “One is to verify the outcome. The other is to restore the public trust in the electoral process.”

Based on the canvassed vote totals from all 72 Wisconsin counties, Prosser is winning by 7,316 votes, from about 1.5 million cast.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Foes Reach Recount Accord | Bloomberg

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David T. Prosser Jr. and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg agreed to the recounting of some ballots by hand and others electronically to resolve who won the April 5 election.

Lawyers for Prosser and Kloppenburg reached the accord in court today, representatives for both sides said, after the state agency responsible for counting votes sued for permission to do so by mining, and potentially erasing, electronic ballot data.

The Voting News Daily: Kloppenburg Files for Recount in Wisconsin, Is that North Carolina ID on the up and up?

WI: Wisconsin court race heads for recount – Reuters

Wisconsin’s election oversight agency said on Wednesday that the challenger in the close race for a seat on the state Supreme Court has asked for a recount. The April 5 high court contest was widely seen as a referendum on the state’s new Republican leadership and the curbs they have imposed on public sector collective bargaining, which drew national attention as other states weighed similar moves. In a statement, the Government Accountability Board said it was “prepared to move forward with a statewide recount of votes for Supreme Court Justice, as requested by the Kloppenburg campaign today.” The announcement came just minutes before JoAnne Kloppenburg, who trails incumbent David Prosser by just 7,316 of the nearly 1.5 million votes in the closely watched race, was scheduled to hold a press conference in Madison outlining her plans. Wednesday was the deadline for her to request a recount. Full Article

NC: Is that ID on the up and up? – News-Record.com

There was a lively discussion on our letters blog today about the proposed Voter ID bill. Supporters of the measure simply can’t understand why anyone would see a problem with requiring voters to show a photo ID at the polls. Joyce McCloy of the N.C. Coalition for Verified Voting didn’t weigh in there, but she forwarded some email correspondence she’s had with legislators. One question she asked was what mechanism the bill creates for election officials to verify whether the ID presented is legitimate. After all, the fake ID industry is thriving. Today, at the behest of Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, she received a reply from Kara A. McCraw, staff attorney and legislative analyst for the General Assembly’s Research Division. It said: “HB 351 requires the voter to present a photo ID to the local election official assigned to check registration when the voter enters the voting enclosure. Voters are currently required to state their name and address, and HB 351 would add the additional requirement that the voter present one of the forms of photo ID listed in the statute. The bill does not address the issue of “fake” IDs, specify a verification process by the election official, or require other agencies to share databases for verification of IDs. So Ms. McCloy is correct that the bill does not include a system or funding for verification of the IDs, and as a result the remaining questions (computer system for ID verification, electronic pollbooks , cost of such a system, security, etc.) are not addressed in the bill. “In reviewing the laws of the other 8 states which require photo ID, none appear to have established a process or system to verify whether an ID is fake or not at the polling site. The challenge procedure in current NC law established underG.S. 163-87 for challenges on election day could still be used to challenge a voter on any of the grounds included in that statute, such as the person is not who they represent themselves to be, even if that voter has presented identification.”

India: Web cameras will keep an eye on May 13 counting | The Times of India

In a bid to ensure fair and free counting on May 13, the Election Commission, for the first time, will instal high resolution web cameras over each counting table to capture images of the counting process including the final figures that will appear in the electronic voting machines.

Chief electoral officer Praveen Kumar said web cameras would be used in the counting centres across the state. “We will be installing web cameras over each table where counting takes place”, he told TOI. There are 234 counting centres across the state, including three in Chennai.

Australia: E-voting should be open source | ZDnet

A consortium of university computer science departments has warned the Federal Government that all future computerised voting systems should be made open source to ensure that no votes will be miscast.

In a submission (PDF) to the House of Representatives review into the 2010 Federal Election, the Computing Research and Education Association of Australia (CORE) said that it is crucial, if Australia is to move to electronic voting, that the principles of privacy, integrity, transparency and scrutiny of the electoral system be upheld.

Wisconsin: Kloppenburg Files for Statewide ‘Recount’ in Wisconsin Supreme Court Election | The Brad Blog

Wisconsin’s Asst. Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg has filed paperwork for a statewide, state-sponsored “recount” in the controversial April 5th State Supreme Court election. She has also called for a special investigator be named to examine questions about election results in Waukesha County, where the County Clerk’s procedures have come under fire both before and since the election.

Speaking to supporters at a press conference moments ago in Madison, Kloppenburg pointed to a number of reported irregularities around the state, including in Waukesha County, as well as Racine and Milwaukee and a number of other areas, which helped lead to her decision to ask for such a count. She also mentioned unusually high undervote rates in a number of districts that the campaign had examined.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin court race heads for recount | Reuters

Wisconsin’s election oversight agency said on Wednesday that the challenger in the close race for a seat on the state Supreme Court has asked for a recount.

The April 5 high court contest was widely seen as a referendum on the state’s new Republican leadership and the curbs they have imposed on public sector collective bargaining, which drew national attention as other states weighed similar moves. 

North Carolina: Is that ID on the up and up? | News-Record.com

There was a lively discussion on our letters blog today about the proposed Voter ID bill. Supporters of the measure simply can’t understand why anyone would see a problem with requiring voters to show a photo ID at the polls.

Joyce McCloy of the N.C. Coalition for Verified Voting didn’t weigh in there, but she forwarded some email correspondence she’s had with legislators. One question she asked was what mechanism the bill creates for election officials to verify whether the ID presented is legitimate. After all, the fake ID industry is thriving.

Minnesota: Voter ID heads to vote — or a ballot | StarTribune.com

GOP backers of a plan to require photo IDs at the polls are considering an effort to seek a constitutional amendment if the bill is thwarted by a veto. The controversial voter ID bill is nearing a floor vote after months of hearings and while Gov. Mark Dayton said Tuesday he is willing to look at the bill, he added he is a “long ways from supporting it.”

But GOP legislators leaving the Capitol for an Easter break are touting the measure as one of their signature policy proposals of the session, explaining why some lawmakers are crafting legislation that could put it on the ballot in 2012.

Egypt: Minister says Egyptian companies will provide technology for electronic voting | Ahram Online

Maged Osman, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, today denied reports Egypt is seeking technological support from abroad to conduct electronic voting in the country’s upcoming elections.

He stressed that the Egyptian government and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has full confidence in the ability of local companies to carry out the task, but admitted there may be teething problems when applying the new methods.

Wisconsin: If There Is A Wisconsin Recount, What Happens Next? | The UpTake

The election battle seen as a proxy between Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and foes of his anti-union legislation may end or open a new chapter today.
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenberg has until 5pm today to request a recount in her very close race with incumbent Supreme Court Justice David Prosser.

While the margin is close enough for the state of Wisconsin to pay for the recount, Kloppenberg still has to decide if she wants to put herself through what could be several months of legal action and whether she and her supporters have enough money to pay the legal bills of the lawyers that will be needed in the fight. Legal fees for the 2009 US Senate recount in Minnesota ran close to $10 Million for each side and the principle lawyers from that fight have been retained by Kloppenberg and Prosser for this fight.

Wisconsin: Waukesha canvass gets OK – JSOnline

The state’s top election watchdog agency announced Tuesday that it has satisfied itself that results certified by Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus for the April 5 election are consistent with totals reported by municipalities, though “a few anomalies” were found in a four-day investigation. Those discrepancies involved only a handful of votes.

“After completing the review of the election materials from Waukesha County, there were some discrepancies found in the Government Accountability Board’s evaluation of the Waukesha County election returns that could not be explained based upon the documentation reviewed,” the board staff said in a statement.

The Voting News Daily: Indiana Senate fixes election code for White’s successor, Colorado Senate Democrats kill voter ID

IN: Senate OKs plan to alter election law – The Indianapolis Star

Despite howls from Democrats that Republicans were changing the rules because they fear the outcome, the Senate on Monday approved a provision that would let the governor appoint a new secretary of state if Charlie White is found ineligible to have been elected. The provision would overturn current law that says the second-highest vote-getter — in this case, Democrat Vop Osili — would be declared the winner. The amendment, offered by Sen. Michael Young, R-Indianapolis, would minimize the fallout for Republicans if White is found ineligible. Not only would it let the Republican governor choose White’s replacement, but Republicans would keep political perks based on the number of votes a party’s candidate for secretary of state wins, especially getting their candidates on ballots without going through the petition process. White has been indicted in Hamilton County on seven felony counts stemming from his having voted in the wrong precinct in the May primary. The grand jury and Democrats allege White did so deliberately in order to cover up that he had moved out of the Fishers Town Council district he represented; White insists it was an innocent mistake. Full Article

CO: Senate Dems kill voter ID, immigration crackdown proposals – KWGN

Senate Democrats have killed two more bills from the GOP-controlled House, both of which dealt with the issue of illegal immigration. A controversial proposal to reduce alleged voter fraud, House 1252 would have allowed the Secretary of State’s office to cross-check the state’s voter rolls with immigration databases and to send letters demanding further proof of citizenship to any registered voters whose status appeared to be in doubt. Secretary of State Scott Gessler, a Republican voted into office last November, was pushing for the bill and worried that thousands of people may have been voting illegally in Colorado’s elections. H.B. 1252, sponsored by Rep. Chris Holbert, passed the House, but ran into trouble in the Democrat-controlled Senate. After testimony from several progressive groups who argued that there’s no evidence of voter fraud, the Senate State Affairs Committee voted the bill down Monday afternoon on a 2-3 party-line vote. Full Article

Egypt: Chief Election Commissioner of India visits Egypt | IBN Live News

Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi, is visiting Egypt to apprise the top officials in the country about the electoral system in India and the usage of EVMs, as it prepares itself for democratic process after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak regime.

Quraishi is accompanied by a 5-member team from the Election Commission of India which is on a five day visit to Egypt from today. The visit ends on April 23. Egypt’s military rulers had last month announced an interim constitution and said presidential elections would be held by November after Mubarak was ousted in a popular revolution.

Wisconsin: Prosser Campaign Vows to Block a State-Sponsored ‘Recount’ in Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Debacle | The Brad Blog

Via Eric Kleefeld at TPM… “Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser held a press conference at the state Capitol on Monday, in which he declared victory in his reelection race — and at which his campaign advisers said they would object to any recount that might be requested by Prosser’s opponent, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg.”

The Prosser campaign went on the offensive at the presser in hopes of keeping a state-wide examination of ballots, meant to ensure the true winner of the 10-year term on the state’s high court, from taking place at all.

Minnesota: Kiffmeyer optimistic Minnesota voter ID bill will pass | Minnesota Public Radio News

The chief House sponsor of a bill to require a photo ID for voting in Minnesota said Monday she expects the Legislature to pass it soon — and that supporters are likely to bring the issue directly to voters if Gov. Mark Dayton vetoes it.

“That is absolutely still an option,” said Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, the bill’s chief sponsor and Minnesota’s former secretary of state. Dayton, while not directly threatening to veto, has raised concerns about the bill, which critics have openly feared could make voting more difficult for senior citizens, college students and other young people who change addresses frequently, and new citizens.

Kentucky: Voter identification becomes issue in debate by secretary of state candidates | The Courier-Journal

People would be required to show a birth certificate or other proof of citizenship before they could register to vote in Kentucky under a proposal by Hilda Legg, a Republican candidate for secretary of state. Legg, former head of the federal Appalachian Regional Commission, made the proposal during a televised debate Monday night with GOP opponent Bill Johnson, a western Kentucky businessman.

Johnson said he opposes the proposal, instead suggesting that only voters who have photo IDs be permitted to cast ballots. The two Republicans and two Democrats participated in back-to-back debates on Kentucky Educational Television.

Indiana: Indiana Senate OKs plan to alter election law and allow Governor to appoint Secretary of State replacement | The Indianapolis Star

Despite howls from Democrats that Republicans were changing the rules because they fear the outcome, the Senate on Monday approved a provision that would let the governor appoint a new secretary of state if Charlie White is found ineligible to have been elected. The provision would overturn current law that says the second-highest vote-getter — in this case, Democrat Vop Osili — would be declared the winner.

The amendment, offered by Sen. Michael Young, R-Indianapolis, would minimize the fallout for Republicans if White is found ineligible. Not only would it let the Republican governor choose White’s replacement, but Republicans would keep political perks based on the number of votes a party’s candidate for secretary of state wins, especially getting their candidates on ballots without going through the petition process.

Editorials: Howard Troxler: Florida Legislature cracks down on … voting? | St. Petersburg Times

Having solved all other problems, the Florida Legislature now turns to the most dangerous threat of all …Voting. No kidding. The 2011 Legislature is considering, and its committees have approved so far, bills that would:

• Cut Florida’s early-voting period (nearly one out of five ballots were cast early in 2010) from two weeks to one.
• Bar anyone who has moved or changed a name, such as newly married women, from updating their information at the polls on Election Day and receiving a regular ballot. They would have to cast “provisional” ballots instead.
• Crack down on, and expand penalties for, groups that try to register new voters — which used to be considered an all-American activity.
• Make it even harder for citizens to change the Florida Constitution by setting an earlier expiration date for petition signatures.

Colorado: Colorado Senate Democrats kill voter ID proposal | KWGN

Senate Democrats have killed two more bills from the GOP-controlled House, both of which dealt with the issue of illegal immigration.

A controversial proposal to reduce alleged voter fraud, House 1252 would have allowed the Secretary of State’s office to cross-check the state’s voter rolls with immigration databases and to send letters demanding further proof of citizenship to any registered voters whose status appeared to be in doubt.

The Voting News Daily: Prosser urges against a “frivolous” recount, Bipartisan support for paper trail voting in South Carolina

WI: Prosser urges against a “frivolous” recount – POLITICO.com

Wisconsin Supreme Court justice David Prosser said Monday that he’s won a “decisive” victory in his race for a 10-year term on the court and that a request from his opponent for a state-funded recount would be “frivolous.” “The result of the election is not in doubt,” the conservative judge said Monday at a press conference in the state capitol in Madison, referring to the tight margin by which he leads challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg. “A funny thing happened to me on the way to my concession speech: The people of Wisconsin told me to tear it up and go back to work.” Prosser declared victory on Friday after the state released final vote totals that put him up by 7,316 votes out of nearly 1.5 million cast. Kloppenburg has until the end of the day Wednesday to decide whether she will request a recount. Her campaign said Monday that she hasn’t made a decision yet, the Associated Press reported. Prosser’s attorney Jim Troupis warned against a recount, saying the campaign “will take every and any step to prevent this frivolous matter going forward.” And a spokesman for Prosser, Brian Schimming, said the justice notched “a strong enough win” that for Kloppenburg “to ask for a recount in any form will be enormously costly to the voters of this state.” Schimming also cautioned that there is “no evidence there to suggest that a recount is going to change the outcome.” Full Article

SC: Bipartisan support for paper trail voting in South Carolina – Examiner.com

It’s no secret that opposing political parties frequently disagree. But when it comes to voting machines currently used in their state, South Carolina Democrats and Republicans unite in demand for improvement. Distrust in the use of electronic voting machines is noted in the 2011 resolutions of both state parties. Both call for changes to include verification, if not complete replacement, by paper records. The Abbeville County Republican Party forwarded aresolution, recently passed at its county convention, to the state GOP calling for an end to use of all types of voting machines in the state, and recommending “use (of) paper ballots exclusively from this point forward(.)” This resolution will be voted on at the SCGOP 2011 convention, scheduled for May 7 in Columbia. Resolutions of the state Democratic Party will include similar terms, according to Susan Smith, a Georgetown County representative to the SCDP’s Executive Committee. A member of its subcommittee on resolutions, Smith says a 2011 resolution will call for a paper trail verification of votes. SCDP delegates will vote on all resolutions at its April 30 state convention. Read More

India: India Election Commission gives in on paper-trails in Electronic Voting Machines? | Real Time News India

After coming under fire from transparency activists, including Anna Hazare, the Election Commission of India seems to have given in to the demand for paper-backed election instead of purely electronic recording of votes.

The Election Commission had come under fire after Hari Prasad, an activist was arrested for securing an EVM from Mumbai in his efforts to prove that the machines can be compromised.