Albania: Albania holds local elections amid unrest | CBS News

Albanians cast ballots Sunday to elect the local authorities amid reports of incidents among political rivals following an election campaign marred by violence.

The main focus of the poll is the capital, Tirana, where the leader of the opposition and three-time Mayor Edi Rama is running for re-election against former Interior Minister Lulzim Basha of the governing Democratic Party. The first preliminary results are expected Monday, according to election officials.

Wisconsin: As Wisconsin voter ID bill heads toward passage, the only certainty is a high price tag | madison.com

Steven Prieve saw a lot of interesting things in his 10 years of running a polling place in Madison. The 59-year-old retired repairman watched as groups of Hmong immigrants arrived with translators in tow. He witnessed droves of students vote in their first elections. And he helped many elderly take part in some of their last.

But despite the thousands of people he helped over the years, Prieve never witnessed someone voting twice or trying to vote under a fake name. “I just don’t see the fraud,” he said. “Not around here.”

Florida: Opponents blast Florida election reform bill | wtsp.com

If you’re planning on getting married and changing your name, or moving to another part of Florida, pay attention. The way you vote may be impacted. An election reform bill that sailed through the House and Senate, despite intense debate, is headed for Governor Scott’s desk.

It aims to change a number of things about Florida’s election code, including a forty-year-old law that allows voters to change their address and/or name at the polls on election day. If signed into law, voters wishing to make those changes will have to vote by provisional ballot, which some fear may not be counted.

Colorado: Colorado Attorney General’s office answers Saguache clerk | Valley Courier

Colorado Deputy Attorney General Maurice Knaizer issued a response last Friday to the recent brief filed by Saguache County Clerk Melinda Myers and the Colorado County Clerk AssociationТs (CCCA) amicus brief.

The briefs were filed concerning the injunction entered against Myers by Secretary of State Scott Gessler in March to hand count ballots cast in the Saguache 2010 General Election. The injunction was sought after Myers refused to allow Gessler to review the ballots, protesting that this would violate the confidential nature of ballots cast.

California: An interview with California Secretary of State Debra Bowen | Daily Kos

Debra BowenEarlier this year, Congresswoman Jane Harman resigned her seat in Congress, triggering a special election in California’s reliably Democratic 36th Congressional district. Sixteen candidates have filed for the May 17 special election; under California’s newly adopted primary system, the top two finishers in that election will advance to a July runoff, regardless of party. Widely expected to advance to this runoff from among the crowded field are Los Angeles City Councilmember Janice Hahn, and current California Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

Secretary Bowen has a reputation among California’s online political community for her groundbreaking work on issues regarding the internet and election integrity (and for personally responding to Facebook messages and Twitter replies). I recently got the chance to catch up with Bowen in the district and talk to her about the election and her priorities. Please note that the publication of this interview here does not constitute an endorsement by Orange to Blue or DailyKos.

The Voting News Daily: Internet voting fraud inevitable, Interview with CA Secretary of State Debra Bowen

Canada: Internet voting fraud inevitable, says expert – CityCaucus.com

It’s become an all too commonplace occurrence at Vancouver city council – a staff report is filed as ‘late distribution’ and posted on the Vancouver.ca website a day before it is to be voted upon. In this case it was about whether the City of Vancouver approves the adoption of internet voting in time for the 2011 election. The staff report was brief and to the point. Internet voting has been tried in other (smaller) Canadian jurisdictions, and anecdotally at least there has been no reported abuse. Therefore it is recommended by staff that Vancouver takes a leap of faith and tries it out during advanced polls this fall. Oh, and it won’t add any additional cost to how we vote. Those who have watched Vision Vancouver with a critical eye know to never take anything from the minds of their party strategists at face value. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what appears to have happened when it came to coverage of this topic. If you are to believe what was reported, this was simply an effort to move toward modernity and increase voter participation. Risks? Pah! Only Councillor Suzanne Anton voted against the proposal, and during the council meeting her concerns about possible voter fraud and the risks associated with technology were dismissed as mere narrow-mindedness by others on council. Full Article

CA: An interview with California Secretary of State Debra Bowen – Daily Kos

Secretary Bowen has a reputation among California’s online political community for her groundbreaking work on issues regarding the internet and election integrity (and for personally responding to Facebook messages and Twitter replies). I recently got the chance to catch up with Bowen in the district and talk to her about the election and her priorities. Please note that the publication of this interview here does not constitute an endorsement by Orange to Blue or DailyKos.

Editorials: Craig Gilbert: Straight-ticket voting in Wisconsin and the move to abolish it | JSOnline

Last fall’s Republican wave in Wisconsin featured a surge in straight-party voting. In some places, close to half the electorate used the “straight-ticket” option on the ballot. And in most counties that keep track of it, those straight-ticket voters were disproportionately Republican.

Yet it’s the GOP that is now poised to abolish straight-ticket voting, a longstanding feature of Wisconsin elections that lets voters choose a party’s entire slate of candidates instead of picking individual contestants race by race. What’s the case for ending straight-ticket voting? Which party would benefit? How many people actually vote this way?

North Carolina: North Carolina Lawyers Challenge Section 5 of Voting Rights Act in D.C. Circuit | The BLT

Lawyers for a group of North Carolina residents who favor nonpartisan municipal elections in their city urged a federal appeals court in Washington today to strike down the federal law the U.S. Justice Department enforced to block a referendum to change the city’s electoral scheme.

The city of Kinston, N.C., sought permission from the Justice Department to amend the city’s electoral system to a nonpartisan ballot. In August 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said the “elimination of party affiliation on the ballot will likely reduce the ability of blacks to elect candidates of their choice.” Kinston is more than 60% black.