In state after Republican-controlled state (now more than two-thirds of all states), there’s a tactical imperative high on the legislative agenda. No, it’s not job creation; it is, in fact, more along the lines of empire creation. That lofty ideal of the “permanent Republican majority” is again enjoying a chilling resurgence. Under the guise of…
According to the La Crosse County Clerk, new voter ID regulations could mean more paperwork, training and cost for La Crosse County. County Clerk Ginny Dankmeyer said municipalities will have to pay more for extra poll workers, there would be new voter ID training required for county clerks and additional paperwork for provisional ballots.
Wisconsin: Senate passes Wisconsin voter ID bill, sends to Walker | Wisconsin Law Journal The state Senate gave final legislative approval to a bill that would require Wisconsin voters to show photo identification during a ragged session Thursday, clearing the way for Gov. Scott Walker to sign the measure into law next week. Assembly Republicans…
Arizona’s elections director said she inadvertently gave an incorrect timetable to the organizers of a drive to recall controversial Senate President Russell Pearce, forcing a change in strategy in the historic recall effort. Elections Director Amy Bjelland said she initially told recall organizer Randy Parraz that if he filed his signatures by May 25, there…
It looks as if the Sept. 13 special election to replace former GOP Rep. Dean Heller won’t be the flash mob of candidates that Republicans had feared. In a decision that stunned the Democratic Party and buoyed the GOP, a district judge Thursday overruled Secretary of State Ross Miller’s May 5 decision to allow any…
Computer connections were restored to all 131 branch offices of the Michigan Secretary of State this afternoon after a broken fiber link interrupted services. Officials cautioned it would take time to address the backlog created by the outage. According to the SOS, the break occurred on Wednesday on a mainframe computer essential to branch office…
Over the past week, several issues have dominated the voting news. The coordinated effort to establish restrictive voter identification requirements in state election codes and limiting early voting periods continued in spite of fierce opposition, with bills reaching governor’s desks in Florida, Texas, Wisconsin and South Carolina. All face legal challenges and the Department of Justice…
Hundreds of unregistered Montgomery County residents may have been allowed to cast ballots in the 2008 presidential election, the county’s chief election official said Wednesday. And as Voter Services Director Joseph Passarella described it, that decision, made by a low-level staffer, eventually morphed into an unwritten policy that mistakenly added more than 3,000 people to…
In just under three weeks since its launch, nearly half a million families in five states across Venezuela have answered the national government’s call to register for its massive new public housing program which seeks to build two million new homes by the year 2017. The program, called Grand Mission “Housing Venezuela”, is the Chavez…
Paper ballots cast by New York City voters last year violated a technical but mandatory part of state election law, the city Board of Elections learned this week, but board officials dismissed the revelation as a “non-issue.” A provision of state election law requires that names of candidates on the ballot “shall be printed in…
California Secretary of State Debra Bowen conceded Thursday in the special election race for a vacant Southern California congressional seat, handing a surprising second-place finish to little-known Republican Craig Huey. Huey, a wealthy advertising executive who spent $500,000 out of his own pocket, will face Democratic Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn in a July 12 runoff.…
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday laid the blame for political unrest and instability at the doorstep of leaders who subverted their countries’ constitutions to extend their stay in office. “I have witnessed from across Africa, the determination of citizens to exercise their democratic rights. Everywhere people are given the vote, they treasure it.…
Following the disastrous 2000 election and the implementation of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), elections supervisors in the state of Florida have been faced with a host of election administration rules and regulation changes every election cycle and 2012 appears like it will be no different. Today, Gov. Rick Scott (R) signed…
Update May 20: Judge: No early voting Sunday in Miami-Dade election | MiamiHerald.com. Gov. Rick Scott has yet to sign a sweeping elections bill that rewrites much of the state’s voting laws, but the measure is already having repercussions in a South Florida mayoral race – and drawing challenges from Democrats in Florida and in…
A bill that would shorten North Carolina’s early voting period would create longer lines at the polls and increase the cost of elections, the executive director of the state elections board said Wednesday. Gary Bartlett’s comments came in a memo shortly after the House narrowly passed the measure that would reduce the current 21/2-week early…
Florida: Protests grow as Governor considers Florida elections bill | Orlando Sentinel Gov. Rick Scott has yet to sign a sweeping elections bill that rewrites much of the state’s voting laws, but the measure is already having repercussions in a South Florida mayoral race – and drawing challenges from Democrats in Florida and in Washington.…
State Senate Democrats used a procedural maneuver earlier this week to block the final roll call on the voter ID bill that Gov. Scott Walker and his allies have advanced in order to game the political process to favor their chosen candidates. The Democratic moves delayed the Senate vote until today, when it is likely that…
Elections officials could no longer send absentee ballot applications to all Franklin County voters, and the time for in-person early voting would be significantly reduced under an elections overhaul bill that passed the House today along party lines. The sweeping bill, which also would attempt to lessen the need to cast provisional ballots, allows election…
A highly controversial bill, passed by the Legislature earlier this month and expected to be signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott at any moment, could mean all the difference in the 2012 presidential election. State Republican lawmakers who passed HB 1355 say they want to eliminate the potential for voter fraud, but Democrats claim…
The Journal Sentinel Editorial Board is entitled to its own opinions but it is not entitled to its own facts. The board’s speculation about my motives regarding the recount of the vote in the Supreme Court election is inaccurate. I appreciate this opportunity to set the record straight. The recount process in Wisconsin is unfolding as…
With The Black Eyed Peas blaring, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill Wednesday requiring people to show photo identification to vote, as opponents pledged to fight it through the U.S. Justice Department. Haley arrived at the bill signing with the hip-hop group’s “I Gotta Feeling” playing in the background, as Republican legislators and tea…
If the provincial government approves, Vancouver residents will be able to vote for their municipal representatives online this fall. Vancouver is set to join a small but growing number of Canadian municipalities that allow internet voting, subject to the province’s approval. That approval, according to City Councillor Andrea Reimer, is very likely, as the province is…
The state Senate is set to finally pass a bill that would require Wisconsinvoters to show photo identification at the polls. Republicans who control the chamber hoped to pass the bill on Tuesday. But Democrats railed against the plan for nine hours before ultimately using a procedural move to delay the vote until Thursday. Republicans have…
Two bills authored by District 23 state Rep. Mark Hamilton were recently signed into law by Gov. Nathan Deal. House Bill 92 shortens the early voting period from 45 to 21 days as a cost-saving measure. It also requires polls to be open on one Saturday during the early voting period to improve access for…
The chance to be the city’s first elected mayor in generations is attracting a long list of candidates who also will have the distinction of being the first Maine politicians content to be a voter’s second or third choice, thanks to ranked-choice voting. Ten candidates have registered with the city so far, meaning they are free…
The Los Angeles County registrar said final results of California’s 36th district special election will not be certified and announced until Friday, leaving the makeup of the July 12 runoff unknown. When every precinct had finished counting late Tuesday night, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn (D) was the only candidate assured of a spot…
Republican secretary of state candidate Hilda Legg said Wednesday that she intends to ask for a recanvass after Tuesday’s vote totals are certified. The Republican race for secretary of state was the closest of Tuesday’s primary. According to The Associated Press, Todd County businessman and teacher Bill Johnson beat Legg, a Somerset consultant and former federal…
After losing her bid for a seat on the Port Arthur school board, Julia Samuels is charging foul and plans to contest election results. Samuels told The News on Tuesday that she believes the Saturday’s election was riddled with irregularities, or even corruption. “I would use the word “corruption” with ease,” Samuels said. “This has to…
Egyptian elections will have a ‘made in India’ stain. The country electing its new President, after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak this February, will use indelible ink used as a marker in India since 1952 to prevent multiple voting. It would also be a litmus test for the Indian electoral system, as United Nations wants…
For the first time in Peru electronic voting will be part of the June 5 presidential election, reports La Républica. This marks the beginning of the new electoral era in Peru and the district chosen to start this new experience is Pacarán, located in Cañete. “We already have a team in place and have installed the hardware…