India: 11 km trek up to Bengal’s highest polling booth | sify.com

Election officials have to trek 11 km up the Himalayan range over two days to reach West Bengal’s highest polling station — located at Sirikhola, 2,800 metres above sea level. The Sirikhola primary school polling booth, 99 km from this hill resort, has 778 voters mainly from the Gotkha community.

On foot, it is 11 km trek northwest of Darjeeling town. Part of the Darjeeling assembly constituency, it goes to the polls April 18. The area has neither electricity nor piped water, officials said. Elections are the only time the residents of Sirikhola see the official machinery in strength. Apart from electronic voting machines (EVM), the officials will carry torches, battery chargers, portable generators, candles and lanterns.

The Voting News Daily: Unexpected Twist in Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, Was the Indiana Secretary of State registered legally when elected?

WI: Wisconsin Election Surprise: David Prosser Gains 7,500 Votes After ‘Human Error’ In Waukesha County (VIDEO) – HuffingtonPost

In a dramatic turn of events on Thursday, the Waukesha County clerk announced that the vote total announced for Tuesday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race had been mistaken — and that the corrected numbers changed the outcome of the entire election. There were 3,456 missing votes for Democratic-backed challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg and 11,059 for incumbent GOP-backed Justice David Prosser. Kloppenburg has previously been beating Prosser by just 200 votes of the roughly 1.5 million cast statewide. The new total puts Prosser on a significant path to victory, about 7,500 votes ahead of Kloppenburg. Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus announced the news in a press conference at 5:30 p.m. local time, sounding nervous and, at times, on the verge of tears. She insisted that there was no foul play in the results and blamed the mess on her own “human error.” Nickolaus cited several reasons for the discrepancies between Tuesday night’s unofficial vote totals and the new numbers. In the city of New Berlin, the total for one ward was recorded as 37 votes for Prosser, but it was actually 237, she said. In the town of Lisbon, a “typing error” resulted in both candidates losing votes. The most significant error, however, occurred in the city of Brookfield. “The spreadsheet from Brookfield was imported into a database that was provided by the Government Accountability Board, but it inadvertently was not saved,” Nickolaus said. “As a result, when I ran the report to show the aggregate numbers that were collected from all the municipalities, I assumed that the city of Brookfield was included. It was not. The city of Brookfield cast 14,315 votes on April 5 — 10,859 votes went for Justice David Prosser, 3,456 went for JoAnne Kloppenburg.” “It is important to stress that this is not a case of extra votes or extra ballots being found,” she added. “This is human error, which I apologize for — which is common in this process.” Full Article

IN: Challenge to Charlie White’s election is ruled valid – The Indianapolis Star

Democrats’ legal challenge to the election of Secretary of State Charlie White is valid, a judge ruled Thursday, and he sent it back to the Indiana Recount Commission to be resolved. Marion Circuit Judge Louis Rosenberg said the commission’s interpretation of the law when it dismissed questions of White’s eligibility would “undermine a key purpose of (the law): preventing fraud.” Bradley Skolnik, the state’s recount director, said it’s too early to say whether the commission will appeal Rosenberg’s ruling. Democrats filed suit in December after the commission voted along party lines to dismiss their allegations that White, who was registered at an old address when he filed his candidacy, was not eligible to run in November’s election. The Democrats said their claim shouldn’t have been dismissed because a state law that requires candidates for secretary of state to be registered to vote means they must be registered legally.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Election Surprise: David Prosser Gains 7,500 Votes After ‘Human Error’ In Waukesha County | Huffington Post

In a dramatic turn of events on Thursday, the Waukesha County clerk announced that the vote total announced for Tuesday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race had been mistaken — and that the corrected numbers changed the outcome of the entire election.

There were 3,456 missing votes for Democratic-backed challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg and 11,059 for incumbent GOP-backed Justice David Prosser. Kloppenburg has previously been beating Prosser by just 200 votes of the roughly 1.5 million cast statewide. The new total puts Prosser on a significant path to victory, about 7,500 votes ahead of Kloppenburg. Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus announced the news in a press conference at 5:30 p.m. local time, sounding nervous and, at times, on the verge of tears.

Wisconsin: Vote-Counting Error In Wisconsin Points to Incompetence, Not Conspiracy – NYTimes.com

When Kathy Nickolaus, the county clerk in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, spoke to the press on Thursday after revealing that she had failed to count more than 14,000 ballots in the hotly contested state supreme court election, one might have expected her to offer her resignation. Instead, Ms. Nickolaus blamed “human error” for the problem, which resulted in the failure to tally any votes from the city of Brookfield, which accounts for about 11 percent of her county’s voters. Most of the 14,315 uncounted votes were cast for the more conservative candidate, David Prosser.

As a result, Mr. Prosser — who had been about 200 ballots behind JoAnne Kloppenburg in a contest that seemed bound for a recount — had a net gain of more than 7,500 votes, and now has an overall lead of about that size. Although the election may still go to a recount, it is now highly unlikely that the outcome will change, unless another county discovers a discrepancy of the same magnitude, but in Ms. Kloppenburg’s favor. The human who made the error was none other than Ms. Nickolaus, who said she had failed to save a computer file after entering Brookfield’s results.

Massachusetts: Hampden Massachusetts Board rejects voting machines | masslive.com

The Hampden Board of Selectmen has voted unanimously not to seek funding from Town Meeting to purchase voting machines this year. Selectmen’s Chairman John D. Flynn said a study committee, with Registrar Arthur Booth as a member, recommended against seeking funds from Town Meeting to purchase voting machines this year.

Booth said he did not believe the town would have excess funds to purchase a voting machine in the fiscal 2012 budget. Voting machines cost between $10,000 and $12,000. The town has one voting precinct and would need one or two machines.

Indiana: Challenge to Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White’s election is ruled valid | Indianapolis Star

Democrats’ legal challenge to the election of Secretary of State Charlie White is valid, a judge ruled Thursday, and he sent it back to the Indiana Recount Commission to be resolved. Marion Circuit Judge Louis Rosenberg said the commission’s interpretation of the law when it dismissed questions of White’s eligibility would “undermine a key purpose of (the law): preventing fraud.”

Bradley Skolnik, the state’s recount director, said it’s too early to say whether the commission will appeal Rosenberg’s ruling. Democrats filed suit in December after the commission voted along party lines to dismiss their allegations that White, who was registered at an old address when he filed his candidacy, was not eligible to run in November’s election.

Rhode Island: Election Day bills to be heard in Rhode Island House | WPRI.com

Several of the bills coming up in the General Assembly deal with elections, and we’ve learned several will be heard in the House Judiciary next week. April 13th will be “Elections Day” in the House Judiciary Committee, with an inventory of no less than a dozen bills dealing with how, when and what happens when Rhode Islanders go to the polls in 2012 and beyond.

Tiverton Democrat John Edwards has legislation that would require town financial meetings to comply with all of the state election laws, currently they are exempt.  South Kingston Democrat Don Lally and Pawtucket Democrat Paddy O’Neill both have bills that would close polls in Rhode Island at 8:00 p.m. rather than 9:00 p.m.

New Mexico: A New Routine for Some New Mexico Voters | Albuquerque Journal

Voters may have to buck their routines in the 2012 election after Gov. Susana Martinez on Thursday signed election-related measures that could significantly alter Election Day procedures in some counties. Counties will now have the option of consolidating staff — and precincts — into large “voting centers.”

The centers will operate much like early voting sites, allowing people to vote at any of the voting centers regardless of where they live in the county. On the flip side, many voters will no longer have the option of voting at their traditional precincts, usually at a local school, if their county chooses the voting center option in 2012. County clerks pushed for the legislation earlier this year, calling it a more efficient voting system that will save taxpayer dollars.

Ohio: Ohio SoS Husted opposes photo-ID mandate | Columbus Dispatch

Ohio’s elections chief said yesterday that “there is a better way” in reference to a controversial Ohio House bill that would require voters to show photo identification at the polls.

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted is proposing election reforms as an alternative to the GOP-backed House Bill 159, which would require that anyone voting at the polls bring a driver’s license, passport or other government-issued identification card that shows the person’s current address and contains a photo.

Pakistan: Imran moves Pakistan Supreme Court for electronic voting machines | thenews.com.pk

A constitutional petition was filed on Thursday in the Supreme Court, seeking direction to the Election Commission (EC) to introduce electronic voting machines in the future general elections. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan filed the petition under Article 184(3), making the EC, National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), and the Federation of Pakistan through the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry secretary respondents.

The petition filed through Advocate Hamid Khan further prayed to direct the EC to prepare fresh electoral rolls, eliminating all bogus votes, and introducing and incorporating the new eligible voters that can be verified from the database and record of Nadra.

Editorials: The Ugly Politics of Fitzwalkerstan: Wisconsin GOP Official “Finds” Votes to Reverse Defeat of Conservative Justice | The Nation

Suppose the Democratic governor of Illinois had proposed radical changes in how the state operates, and suppose anger over those proposed changes inspired a popular uprising that filled the streets of every city, village and town in the state with protests. Then, suppose there was an election that would decide whether allies of the governor controlled the state’s highest court. Suppose the results of that election showed that an independent candidate who would not be in the governor’s pocket narrowly won that election.

Then, suppose it was announced by a Democratic election official in Chicago that she had found 14,000 votes in a machine-controlled ward that overwhelmingly favored the candidate aligned with the Democratic governor. And suppose the Democratic official who “found” the needed ballots for the candidate favored by the Democratic governor had previously been accused of removing election data from official computers and hiding the information on a personal computer, that the official’s actions had been censured even by fellow Democrats and that she her secretive and erratic activities had been the subject of an official audit demanded by the leadership of the Cook County Board.

Wisconsin: Prosser Picks Up 7,500-plus Votes in Waukesha County Clerk Snafu | Shoreqood Patch

In a stunning development that instantly changed the race for the state Supreme Court, a county clerk’s error on election night added 7,582 votes for incumbent Justice David Prosser over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg. The additional votes almost certainly will give Prosser the victory in the heated race for the high court.

As of early afternoon Thursday, Kloppenburg had been ahead in the race, according to totals compiled by the Associated Press. The additional votes for Prosser were found after it was determined that all the votes for the City of Brookfield were not included in the initial counts that the county provided to the Associated Press, which has been maintaining a statewide tally of votes. The revised Waukesha County figures show Prosser with 11,008 more votes than were initially recorded for him, while Kloppenburg picked up 3,426 more votes. The net result is an additional 7,582 votes for Prosser.

Ghana: Ghana pushes for E-voting | tmcnet.com

The Ghanaian government announced here on Thursday that it would support the electoral commission to develop a biometric voter register in order to lay a strong foundation for e-voting in the country. The government said that the e-voting system would eliminate the incidence of multiple registrations, multiple voting and other kinds of electoral fraud in elections.

Opening a two-day Microsoft Open Door Conference for West Africa here, Minister for Communications Haruna Iddrissu said the government wanted to ensure that there were credible elections in Ghana.

The Voting News Daily: Wisconsin State Supreme Court race headed for likely recount, Internet Voting rejected in Australia

WI: State Supreme Court race headed for likely recount – JSOnline

A recount is all but certain in the race for state Supreme Court, which would pose a host of legal questions, raise the political stakes in efforts to recall state senators, ignite a new bout of political fundraising and further fuel Wisconsin’s ongoing battle over union bargaining. On Wednesday, nearly 20 hours after the polls closed, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg claimed victory over Justice David Prosser after an unofficial tally showed her holding the thinnest of leads. According to an unofficial tally by The Associated Press, she was up 204 votes out of nearly 1.5 million cast – a margin of 1/100th of a percent. “Wisconsin voters have spoken, and I am grateful for, and humbled by, their confidence and trust,” she said in a statement. Wisconsin is already a focus of national attention because of the fight over Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining measure, and now the state’s election system will likely get unprecedented scrutiny under the first statewide recount in more than 20 years. Read More

Australia: Queensland legislation holds e-voting at bay – Computerworld

The Electoral Commission of Queensland will forgo electronic voting for the next state election, sidelining plans to develop a system as a result of legislative restrictions in the state. The commission allocated $960,000 in funding late last year for research into technology to assist voting for the blind and vision impaired, following similar projects in NSW and Victoria ahead of their respective elections. However, the funding has so far remained unused. Electoral Commissioner for Queensland, David Kerslake, told Computerworld Australia that the project was dependent on changes in state legislation which, even if made this year, would not provide enough time for system development ahead of the next election sometime early in 2012. Full Article

Nigeria: Botched Election Exposed PDP Rigging Strategies in Nigeria | thisdaylive.com

Former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change,[CPC], Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) said the postponement of the rescheduled National Assembly Elections has exposed the very sophisticated rigging strategies of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party [PDP].

Addressing newsmen at the Benin Airport on his way to Onitsha in Anambra State in continuation of his nation-wide campaign, Buhari said the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega to postpone the general elections is a blessing in disguise as it shows that the PDP had arranged to rig the elections in favour of its candidates.

South Carolina: South Carolina House rejects early voting, pushes ID bill | thestate.com

House Republicans squashed a Senate plan Wednesday to let voters cast ballots early and sent back to the Senate a bill requiring voters to present a photo ID at the polls.

Under the bill approved by the Republican-controlled House, voters must bring a driver’s license, passport, military ID or other photo ID to the polls in order to cast a ballot. Under current law, voters only have to present a voter registration card that does not include a photo. About 178,000 voters in South Carolina don’t have driver’s licenses or DMV-issued photo IDs, according to the State Election Commission.

Texas: Texas Voter ID bill goes to Conference Committee | texasobserver.org

After passing both the House and Senate, the contentious Senate voter ID bill returned to the upper chamber with a variety of House amendments. Rather than accept the House’s tweaks to the measure, the Senate sent the bill to conference committee, where five members of each chamber will iron out the differences between the versions.

Despite the differences, either version would give Texas one of the toughest voter ID laws in the country. While there was little debate, the bill’s author, Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay,said afterwards that he wasn’t happy with some of the changes. “There were things on the bill that we would want to potentially take off,” Fraser said.

Turkey: Is digital voting possible in Turkey? | Hurriyet Dailt News

With election day approaching, it is the right time to discuss digital voting. Traditionally, millions of Turkish citizens go to a physical location where they stamp their votes on paper, enclose it within an envelope and drop it in a closed box, which is later opened and counted by previously assigned people.

They also get their fingers painted with a permanent ink and go around with a stain for days. This type of voting causes hours of lost time, a nationwide expenditure on gasoline that is more than usual, a stain for a week and suspicion as to whether the ballots are really being counted correctly or not. It is a customary sight to find uncounted ballots in the garbage. Ideally, electronic voting would end all of these troubles if you trust your government.

Australia: Queensland legislation holds e-voting at bay | Computerworld.au

The Electoral Commission of Queensland will forgo electronic voting for the next state election, sidelining plans to develop a system as a result of legislative restrictions in the state.

The commission allocated $960,000 in funding late last year for research into technology to assist voting for the blind and vision impaired, following similar projects in NSW and Victoria ahead of their respective elections.

Wisconsin: Conservative judge behind in Wisconsin | Politico

A recount and possibly a lengthy legal battle may be necessary to decide the closely watched Wisconsin Supreme Court race in which an incumbent conservative judge trails a liberal challenger, but the fight over what it all means has already begun.

Democrats hailed unofficial counts showing JoAnne Kloppenburg with a razor-thin 204-vote edge over Justice David Prosser as a repudiation of Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s attempt to reduce union collective bargaining power – and a pivot point that could fuel their party’s efforts heading into the 2012 elections.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin State Supreme Court race headed for likely recount | JSOnline

A recount is all but certain in the race for state Supreme Court, which would pose a host of legal questions, raise the political stakes in efforts to recall state senators, ignite a new bout of political fundraising and further fuel Wisconsin’s ongoing battle over union bargaining.

On Wednesday, nearly 20 hours after the polls closed, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg claimed victory over Justice David Prosser after an unofficial tally showed her holding the thinnest of leads. According to an unofficial tally by The Associated Press, she was up 204 votes out of nearly 1.5 million cast – a margin of 1/100th of a percent.

Colorado: Saguache County Colorado clerk tells court ballots should be kept secret, even from state | Denver Post

Voted ballots should be kept secret, secure and off-limits for public inspection — even if the person asking is Colorado’s top election official, the Saguache County clerk and recorder has argued in a court filing.

Melinda Myers said Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler doesn’t have the authority to conduct a “hand review” of voted ballots from the county’s 2010 general election. Allowing such a review “would violate the confidentiality historically afforded a voted ballot in Colorado,” Saguache County attorney Benjamin Gibbons wrote in response to a lawsuit filed against Myers by Gessler’s office last month.

Indiana: Judge to decide Indiana Secretary of State White’s status Thursday | WISHTV.com

A Marion County judge will decide Thursday if Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White’s election was unqualified to have his name on the ballot last November. Indiana Democrats have sued, seeking to have White removed from his post and replaced by Democrat Vop Osili, who lost to White in November’s election.

Attorneys for the Democrats went to court Wednesday to argue that White lied on his voter registration form and therefore was ineligible to run for secretary of state. White’s attorney, Jim Bopp, argued that White met requirements to be on the ballot because he was registered to vote. There is no requirement to be “legally” registered, he said.

Illinois: Your vote cost about $10 in Rockford and Winnebago County Illinois | rrstar.com

A single vote Tuesday cost taxpayers about $10 in Rockford and Winnebago County. That’s roughly the price of a movie ticket and, thanks to low voter turnout, substantially higher than the cost per vote of previous elections dating back to at least 1987.

Election costs include judges’ pay, polling place rental, truck rental, equipment, publications, support service and other miscellaneous expenses. “No matter what the turnout, good, bad or otherwise, we still have the expense to pay for all the extras that go along with the election,” said Winnebago County Clerk Margie Mullins.

Colorado: Fort Collins Colorado voters say no to ranked voting | The Coloradoan

Fort Collins voters are not interested in changing how the city runs its elections. Voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot proposal that would have had the city adopt a ranked-choice voting system in municipal elections designed to ensure that winning candidates enjoy the support of a majority of those casting ballots.

The proposal, which was endorsed by several local politicians and political organizations, fell well short of getting a majority of support, failing with 38.63 percent of voters in favor and 61.37 percent opposed.

Wisconsin: How A Recount Works In Wisconsin | The UpTake

A recount petition may be filed no earlier than the time of completion of the canvass and no later than 5:00 p.m. on the third business day following the last meeting day of the municipal or county board of canvassers determining the election for the office or referendum question or, if more than one board of canvassers makes a determination, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the third business day following the last meeting day of the board of canvassers which makes a determination.

If the Board of State Canvassers makes the determination, the petitioner may file the petition no earlier than the last meeting day of the last county board of canvassers to make a statement in the election or referendum and no later than 5:00 p.m. on the third business day following the day on which the Elections Board receives the last statement from the county board of canvassers for the election or referendum.

Verified Voting Blog: Losing Democracy in Cyberspace

It has been nothing short of astonishing that, within a few weeks, the brave people of Tunisia and Egypt toppled corrupt dictators who ruled for decades. One of the protesters' key demands was for democratic elections — the right to choose a government that is responsive to the people's needs. That is also what protesters in Bahrain, Yemen, Iran, Jordan and Libya are demanding as they call for the dissolution of their autocratic and oppressive governments. As the protesters know all too well, voting does not mean that one's vote will be counted. In Egypt's 2005 elections, Hosni Mubarak was reelected with 88.6 percent of the vote. In 2009, Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was reelected with an 89.6 percent landslide victory. In both cases allegations of fraud and corruption surrounded the elections.

What nobody is talking about is how votes will be cast in emerging democracies. For elections to be legitimate in such countries, it is critical to use voting technology that counts votes accurately. In the 21st century, chances are high that computers will be used in some form in the coming elections in Egypt and Tunisia. But voting computers, like heads of state, must be held accountable to the people they serve. It is a tenet of computer science that computers can be programmed to do anything, including play "Jeopardy!" and steal votes.

The Voting News Daily: Wisconsin court election courts disaster, New Montana bill ending Election Day voter registration might hurt state GOP

WI: Opinion: Wisconsin court election courts disaster – Richard L. Hasen – POLITICO.com

With a razor-thin 204-vote lead, Democratic state assistant attorney general JoAnne Kloppenburg has declared victoryover Republican incumbent David Prosser in the race for Wisconsin state Supreme Court justice. A recount in this race, which some view as a referendum on Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-union policies, seems inevitable, and it is not clear who will ultimately take the seat on the Wisconsin bench. But if this expensive and nasty race ends up in protracted litigation, it could undermine public confidence in both the judiciary and Wisconsin’s electoral process, especially if, as I expect, supporters of Prosser raise ugly allegations of voter fraud. To begin with, these days any statewide election within a few hundred votes will likely be within the margin of litigation. Since the 2000 election and dispute over the razor-thin margin separating George W. Bush and Al Gore for the Florida vote, and therefore the U.S. presidency, litigating the outcome of close elections has become a regular feature of U.S. political life. Whether the 2004 governor’s race in Washington State between Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire, the 2008 Senate race in Minnesota pitching Al Franken against Norm Coleman or the 2010 Senate race in Alaska between Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller, close elections bring out intense partisan fighting and, often from the Republican side, allegations of fraud or voting irregularities. While the fraud allegations remain stuck in the public’s mind, no proof of any systemic fraud has been unearthed. Instead, close examination of elections show, time and again, that our election systems are not perfect – but this is due to human error and not fraud. Full Article

MT: New Montana bill ending Election Day voter registration might hurt state GOP – KBZK.com

The state legislature has passed a bill ending Election Day voter registration. The last day voters could now register is the Friday before an election. The Republican sponsored House Bill 180 passed largely on party lines Monday. Long held political thought says blocking same day registration benefits the G.O.P. But new research calls that into question. The general argument put forth around the issue goes like this: Republicans say allowing voters to register on Election Day can lead to fraud; Democrats argue we should be trying to get as many citizens as possible to vote–and same day voter registration helps. This issue, though, is often seen as having a deeper partisan motive. “Anything you do to try to make it easier for people to turn out, theoretically the conventional wisdom states it should help Democrats,” said MSU Political Science Professor, Dr. David Parker. Conversely anything making the process more difficult should help Republicans. But Parker said a study released last year by the University of Wisconsin found a different conclusion. Full Article
Read the University of Wisconsin Report (pdf)