Monthly Archives: April 2011

There’ll be no last hurrah for Pierce County’s optical-scanner voting machines. No red-white-and-blue farewell to the last traditional polling places in Washington. No one-last-chance for 85-year-old Erika Cranmer of Lakewood to exercise the democracy she cherishes so by helping conduct an election at her neighborhood polling place; nor for 90-year-old Morry Kenton of Gig Harbor to make his 70th in-person trip to a traditional voting station.

We all knew the Legislature approved statewide all-mail voting last month, forcing Pierce County – the only holdout – to fall in line with the state’s other 38 counties. Close your polls, legislators said. All-mail elections are more cost-effective.

Tennessee: GOP majority revising state election laws – Voter ID bills among proposals to amend process | Knoxville News Sentinel

Mandating photo identification for voting is just one part of a reshaping of Tennessee election laws by the Legislature’s Republican majority that also includes resolution of a three-year dispute over installing new voting machines statewide.

In a compromise last week, Republicans backed off of bills to repeal outright the Voter Confidence Act of 2008, which mandated use of $37 million in federal funds to place machines providing a paper trail for ballots in all 95 Tennessee counties.

South Carolina: 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.

Editorials: Michael C. Barris: Why paper-ballot vote is best for New York | The Observer

In the article headlined “New voting process a step backward” (March 19), the writer queries: “With the technology available, why not use a touch-screen computer? Really, who made this decision?”

I did, along with the other people who showed up at a trade fair graciously hosted by Fredonia Place at 50 Howard St, Fredonia, on Dec. 6, 2006 in cooperation with the Chautauqua County Board of Elections. The fair had been publicized by The OBSERVER on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2006. Everyone who showed up had an opportunity to use the twelve or so different models on exhibit and assess each one with a rating sheet. The Election Commissioners tabulated these results and took them onward to the New York State Board of Elections.

Colorado: Colorado Secretary of State Gessler says Saguache election not certified | Center Post Dispatch

Three Saguache residents met with Secretary of State Scott Gessler and his staff in Denver last week for an update on Gessler’s lawsuit against Saguache County Clerk Melinda Myers and to discuss election-related issues.

Former commissioner’s candidate, Republican Steve Carlson, Democrat Lisa Cyriacks, who served on the Saguache Canvass Board and Library District proponent Judy Page, also Aspen vote integrity advocate Marilyn Marks, met with Gessler for over two hours.

South Dakota: South Dakota Secretary of State announces appointments to Board of Elections |Radio 1380 KOTA

South Dakota Secretary of State Jason Gant announced today the appointments of new and returning members of the South Dakota Board of Elections. Rapid City attorney and former state legislator Linda Lea M. Viken was re-appointed to the State Board of Elections by Senator Jason Frerichs (D – Wilmot). Viken has served on the Board of Elections since 1999, and is currently one of the longest serving members of the panel.

Newly appointed to the board by Speaker of the House Val Rausch was Deuel County Auditor Pam Lynde. Lynde has been Deuel County Auditor for 16 years and was recently elected to her 5th term as Auditor. Prior to serving as Auditor, Lynde was the finance officer for the City of Clear Lake.

Voting Blogs: SaveOurVotes: Flawed Wisconsin Race Proves Need for Transparency, Accountability in Election Procedures

April 17, 2011

Kloppenburg, a virtual unknown who was given little chance of success when she entered the race several months ago, was buoyed by the high passions stirred by Walker’s actions to strip government employees of their collective bargaining rights. Though the race is officially nonpartisan, it was seen as both a referendum on Walker and a chance to affect the Supreme Court’s ruling on Walker’s actions, which are likely to be reviewed by the Court in its next term.

Election night results were considered too close to call, but the next day when seemingly all the votes had been tallied, Kloppenburg claimed victory with a margin of 204 votes of the more than 1.4 million total votes cast. A recount seemed inevitable.

Full Article: SAVE our Votes: Flawed Wisconsin Race Proves Need for Transparency, Accountability in Election Procedures.

Verified Voting Blog: Flawed Wisconsin Race Proves Need for Transparency, Accountability in Election Procedures

April 17, 2011

When Wisconsin voters flocked to the polls on April 5, one of the factors driving the high turnout was the State Supreme Court contest between incumbent Justice David Prosser and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg. Prosser, whose term ends July 31, often casts the deciding vote on the seven-member court. He is a conservative Republican former Speaker of the Assembly seen as closely allied to Wisconsin's controversial Gov. Scott Walker. Kloppenburg, a virtual unknown who was given little chance of success when she entered the race several months ago, was buoyed by the high passions stirred by Walker's actions to strip government employees of their collective bargaining rights. Though the race is officially nonpartisan, it was seen as both a referendum on Walker and a chance to affect the Supreme Court's ruling on Walker's actions, which are likely to be reviewed by the Court in its next term. Election night results were considered too close to call, but the next day when seemingly all the votes had been tallied, Kloppenburg claimed victory with a margin of 204 votes of the more than 1.4 million total votes cast. A recount seemed inevitable.

[pullquote align="left"][media url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldCVBB-ruKY" width="360" height="240" jwplayer="controlbar=bottom"][/pullquote]Then one day later, County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus of Republican stronghold Waukesha County suddenly announced in a dramatic press conference that she had forgotten to include the votes of the county’s second-largest city, Brookfield, in her tabulation. The more than 14,000 votes she added now gave Prosser a lead of almost 7,316 votes of the 1,498,880 votes cast, or 0.488%. Wisconsin picks up the tab for recounts where the margin of victory is less than 0.5%, so this falls just barely within the margin of a state-funded recount.

The Voting News Daily: Wisconsin Investigates Five Years of Waukesha Elections, Printers for India’s Electronic Voting Machines?

WI: State investigating vote irregularities in Waukesha County going back five years – Madison State Journal

The state’s investigation into vote irregularities in Waukesha County will stretch back at least five years, the head of the Government Accountability Board said Thursday. Questions over vote totals in Waukesha have lingered over the past week after County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus announced she failed to report more than 14,000 votes from the city of Brookfield in initial vote totals. The new total gave incumbent Supreme Court Justice David Prosser a lead of about 7,000 votes over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg in the hotly contested state Supreme Court race. Official results in that race have not yet been announced. Now questions have emerged over Nickolaus’ published vote counts from as far back as the fall of 2006, when there were key statewide elections including races for governor and attorney general. “This is part of what we’re looking into. We have a lot of complaints,” said Kevin Kennedy, the director and general counsel for GAB. “It’s part of our investigation.” Kennedy said the board’s current priority is determining the integrity of numbers reported in this spring’s election but added investigators are reviewing broader questions about Nickolaus and vote counting. Full Article

India: Election Commission seeks roadmap for EVM with printers – Hindustan Times

An Election Commission committee on Friday asked Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) manufacturers the time-frame within which the machines can be upgraded as per its suggestions. The high level technical committee has suggested some up-gradations including installing a small printer in EVMs as reported by HT on Friday, to give out receipts for every vote cast. The idea is to have a record of all the votes that can be verified. The voter, however, will not get the receipt as the commission believes it could be traded. The concept is called paper trail of votes cast. The committee asked the two EVM manufacturing companies, Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited, to come out with a roadmap to introduce paper trail in 14 lakh EVMs. Read More

India: India Election Commission seeks roadmap for Electronic Voting Machines with printers | Hindustan Times

The idea is to have a record of all the votes that can be verified. The voter, however, will not get the receipt as the commission believes it could be traded. The concept is called paper trail of votes cast.

National: House committee aims to step up election oversight | The Hill’s Ballot Box

The House Administration Committee will step up election oversight, as it increases hearings to twice a month and sets its sights on terminating the Election Assistance Commission.

“There are a number of things that need to be addressed in the coming months,” said Elections subcommittee Chairman Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.). “Oversight certainly has been lacking in a number of areas.”

Among the issues the subcommittee plans to examine are the EAC, the Federal Election Commission, overseas voting and cleaning up state voter roles.

Wisconsin: State investigating vote irregularities in Waukesha County going back 5 years | Wisconsin State Journal

The new total gave incumbent Supreme Court Justice David Prosser a lead of about 7,000 votes over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg in the hotly contested state Supreme Court race. Official results in that race have not yet been announced. Now questions have emerged over Nickolaus’ published vote counts from as far back as the fall of 2006, when there were key statewide elections including races for governor and attorney general.

Tennessee: Tennessee House Passes Voter ID Bill Despite Constitutional Questions | Nashville Public Radio

The Tennessee House of Representatives approved a bill Thursday that would require voters to show a photo ID at the polls. The passage came despite a state Attorney General’s opinion that the measure would likely be ruled a “poll tax” by a court

The state attorney general’s opinion released this week that says the courts are likely to find the bill unconstitutional if it costs something in order to qualify to vote. Such “poll taxes” were used in the Reconstruction South to deny the vote to former slaves.

South Carolina: South Carolina Senate blocks House version of Voter ID bill | SCNOW

The South Carolina Senate voted to non-concur on what senate leaders called a “flawed” Voter ID bill passed by the House of Representatives. Because of the flaws in the House language and new matter inserted in the supposedly clean bill, the vote to non-concur was overwhelming.

Without agreement from the house, the bill, which would require photo ID for voters in the state, is in limbo. The houses will have to reach some accommodation for the bill to move forward.

Missouri: Missouri Election recount: Gooden still winner after mayor recount | Marshall Democrat-News

This ballot illustrates a vote that can contribute to counting problems. Rather than filling the oval in completely, the voter made more of a squiggle that is difficult for voting machines to read. (Patrick Nolan/Democrat-News) The Marshall mayoral race is over. Mark Gooden is the mayor-elect with a final vote tally of 759 to 746 for Mayor Pro Tem Ron Duvall.

“I have to congratulate these men on how they conducted themselves,” said Circuit Judge Dennis Rolf. “This could have been a long difficult process.” Rolf said he spoke with Duvall and Gooden on Wednesday and the trio reached an agreement on how the process would be conducted. A recount of votes was conducted Thursday, April 14.

Minnesota: Minnesota Photo ID bill clears House committee, inches toward vote | Minnesota Public Radio News

A House committee approved a bill Thursday that would require people to show a photo ID before they can vote, and with Republicans in control in the Legislature, the bill has a stronger chance of passing than in years past.

Despite Republicans in the Minnesota House and Senate looking at significant spending cuts to erase the state’s $5 billion projected budget deficit, the voter ID bill appears to be one area where they’re willing to spend more money.

Florida: Voter-rights activists pan Florida election measure | TBO.com

For more than a decade, lawmakers have been tweaking election rules to improve on Florida’s ham-fisted history of counting ballots. This year, an election law rewrite is moving through the state House that voter-rights activists have assailed as “good old-fashioned voter suppression” and “Jim Crow tactics.”

The legislation was described as a cleanup bill in advance of the 2012 elections that is “important to ensure the integrity of the political process and our elections in Florida,” said sponsor Dennis Baxley, a Republican from Ocala.

Alaska: Alaska Legislature passes voter intent write-in bill | Alaska Dispatch

A measure that makes it clear a voter’s intent takes precedence when casting a write-in vote has passed the Legislature and now goes to the governor for signature.

Senate Bill 31, sponsored by Sen. Joe Thomas of Fairbanks, grew out of the 2010 U.S. Senate race. Fairbanks attorney Joe Miller beat incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the August primary so Murkowski launched a write-in campaign and came back to defeat Miller in the November general election.

The Voting News Daily: The Fate of the EAC Discussed in Congressional Hearing, West Virginia Audit finds errors in accounting

Election Assistance Commission May Be Closing : Roll Call Politics

House Republicans may have found a way to trim $14 million from the federal budget: eliminate the Election Assistance Commission. The House Administration Committee is holding a hearing today to discuss closing the agency that is charged with administering federal election requirements and testing voting equipment. A corresponding Republican bill that would transfer most of the agency’s responsibilities to the Federal Election Commission may run into strong Democratic opposition. Getting rid of the EAC would save millions and reduce government redundancy, according the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Gregg Harper. The EAC has “clearly served its purpose and is no longer essential to the administration of our elections,” the Mississippi Republican, chairman of the Subcommittee on Elections, said in a statement. “This is why I have introduced legislation to eliminate the Commission and transfer its remaining responsibilities and its authority to more appropriate and competent entities.” But Minority Whip Steny Hoyer may have a thing or two to say about Harper’s plan as the first witness slated to testify at today’s hearing. Excerpts of the Maryland Democrat’s written testimony obtained by Roll Call show he will come out sharply against closing the EAC. Full Article

WV: Audit finds counting of federal election money had errors spanning 3 secretaries of state – Greenfield Reporter

An audit shows West Virginia’s accounting of federal money it received for replacing voting machines and other election improvements contained several errors. The audit by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s Office of the Inspector General examined the state’s use of the funding from April 2003 to August 2009, a period spanning the terms of Secretary of State Natalie Tennant and two predecessors, Betty Ireland and Joe Manchin. According to the audit, the Secretary of State’s Office didn’t put matching money received into a single account with the federal money until 2007. As a result, the election account lost more than $95,000 in interest earnings. Auditors also found discrepancies between the Secretary of State’s balance sheets and the Treasurer’s Office’s balance sheets. Ireland told the Charleston Daily Mail that the balance sheet discrepancies were the only problem she wasn’t aware of when she left office. The other problems identified by auditors were corrected. In a response to audit, Tennant attributed the balance sheet discrepancies to data entry errors and differences in accounting procedures. She said her office has made changes to correct the problem. Full Article

India: Hack state’s e-voting system, get Rs 10 lakh | Hindustan Times

If you are an ethical hacker, then the state Election Commission is looking for you. As it aims to introduce e-voting in the upcoming civic elections in Mumbai next year, officials wary of independent agencies embarrassing them have now decided to offer Rs 10 lakh to anyone who can hack their e-voting system.

The SEC is all set to float tenders to invite consultants, and one of the conditions is that hackers be ethical and have a demo to hack the software. This comes after the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s decision to introduce EVMs drew a lot of flak.

Nigeria: Nigeria’s successful elections: Democracy 1, vote-rigging 0 | The Economist

Anyone who has received a Nigerian scam e-mail—offering to share vast wealth in exchange for just a teensy bit of advance capital—will instantly grasp how rife corruption is in Africa’s most populous and entrepreneurial country. This is true of politics as well as commerce. Cheating has become so brazen that few Nigerians expect fair elections. Politicians have for years larded voter lists with the names of foreign musicians, including deceased ones like Marvin Gaye, and have stuffed ballot boxes with abandon.

At parliamentary elections on April 9th, allegations of rigging were once again in the air. Violence also flared up. And the late delivery of ballot papers, which were securely printed abroad, delayed the voting by a week. Nonetheless, the poll marked the first credible election in Nigeria since the end of military rule 12 years ago.

India: Electronic Voting Machines on the blink, voters made to wait in India | The Times of India

Voters might have turned out in full force across the city but electronic voting machines (EVMs) at many polling booths failed to match up to the electorate’s eagerness.

Many EVMs failed to work in the morning leading to confusion and anger among voters. At Shri Krishnaswamy College for Women in Anna Nagar, several voters, who had turned up early in the morning, returned without voting because the machines were not working.

Ghana: Ghana Electoral Commission Hopes To Use E-Voting In 2012 | ModernGhana.com

The Electoral Commission (EC) has expressed the wish to adopt the electronic voting system in the next general election because it will solve many problems in the election process.

“It is our wish because it will solve a lot of our problems”, the Deputy Chairman of the EC (Operations), Mr Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, responded to a question posed by the Daily Graphic as to whether electronic voting would be used in Election 2012. He, however, indicated that electronic voting would be applied only if the system was ready by the time of holding the next general elections.

National: Voters’ guides go digital…sometimes | Electionline Weekly

Across the nation, elections offices are moving further and further away from a paper society and allowing residents to do everything electronically, whether it’s registering to vote, requesting an absentee ballot, or in some recent experiments, even voting online. One stronghold remains though: the printed and mailed voters’ guide.

Moving to online-only voter guides is seen by many as the obvious response to budget cuts for an electorate living with 21stcentury technologies. Printed voter guides are a tradition that voters across the nation have come to expect in the weeks leading up to an election, yet they are costly to compile, print, and mail, and their information is often duplicated online at lower costs.

National: Newly empowered GOP pushes voter ID | stateline.org

Fresh off commanding electoral victories in November, Republican majorities in many state legislatures want to require voters to show photo identification at the polls, a move Democrats say is cynically designed to help the GOP during the next election cycle.

Voter identification laws have been a demarcation line between Democrats and Republicans for years. Democrats claim the measures disenfranchise poor, elderly and minority voters who tend to vote Democratic but may not have appropriate photo ID. Republicans say the laws are necessary to prevent fraud, particularly when important statewide contests — such as the 2008 election for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota — can be decided by just hundreds of votes.

National: Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer to Testify Before House Administration Election Subcommittee | Committee on House Administration

On Thursday, April 14th, at 10:30am, the Elections Subcommittee of the Committee on House Administration will hold a hearing on H.R. 672, proposed legislation to abolish the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, one of the main architects of the Help America Vote Act which created the EAC, is scheduled to testify about the ongoing importance of the EAC.

“The EAC arose out of the fiasco we witnessed during the 2000 federal election,” said Subcommittee Ranking Member Robert A. Brady. “The legislation currently being considered to terminate the EAC has been developed with minimal stakeholder involvement and with no real foundation in the historical context within which the agency was founded. I look forward to Mr. Hoyer’s expert testimony on why the support and resources of the EAC are more important than ever,” Brady added.

Editorials: Paul Malischke: Election methods need improving | Wisconsin State Journal

Monday’s Wisconsin State Journal editorial, “State needs streamlined count,” calls for a website to fix our vote counting situation. Actually, Wisconsin needs to pay more attention to assuring that the vote count is correct.

Wisconsin falls well short of having a reliable end-to-end system. We need to improve the method of appointing the members of the boards of canvassers, elect county clerks in nonpartisan elections and evaluate whether recounts should always include partial or full hand counts of the ballots.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Democrats Calling for Hearings, Probes into Nickolaus’ Election Results | Brookfield, WI Patch

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin today asked state elections officials to review the Waukesha County vote tally in the 2006 state Attorney General election, after a liberal blogger pointed out there were about 17,000 more votes recorded than ballots cast.

Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus posted an asterisk on the 2006 results on the county’s web site, with a note that said votes that are hand-counted and not electronically cast through machines are not included in the ballots cast figure.

Vermont: Vermont House Passes National Popular Vote Bill | Enhanced Online News

The National Popular Vote bill passed the Vermont House of Representatives Tuesday, placing the bill before the governor for signature and enactment. If Gov. Shumlin signs, Vermont will join the effort to guarantee the presidency to the candidate who wins the most votes in all 50 states. The bill passed the house by a 84-50 margin. Final passage, considered a mere formality, is slated for tomorrow.

“This is a victory for those who believe every person is entitled to have their vote for president count,” said Tom Golisano, national spokesperson for National Popular Vote. “National Popular Vote does so while preserving the Electoral College and the intent of the Founding Fathers.”

Tennessee: Tennessee Attorney General’s Opinion Flags Voter ID Bill | Nashville Public Radio