India: Indian Election Commission shares polls expertise with Nepal |The Himalayan Times

Preventing the misuse of money to influence voters during elections is one of the biggest impediment to holding free and fair polls, the chief of India’s Election Commission said today.

Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi, who is in Kathmandu on the invitation of his Nepali counterpart, Neel Kantha Upreti, shared his experience of conducting Indian elections at a programme organised by Indian Embassy and BP Koirala foundation, titled ‘Managing Indian Election: Sharing experience and prospectus for Co-operation’.

North Carolina: Republican lawmakers roll out new voter ID bill in North Carolina | San Antonio Express-News

Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly have rolled out a new version of a bill that would require voters to show identification before they cast a ballot — a proposal they hope will attract support from some Democrats and Gov. Beverly Perdue.

A measure unveiled Tuesday in the House budget-writing committee would still require potential voters to show one of eight forms of photo ID. They could also offer their voter registration card, utility bill, pay stub or bank statement, but precinct officials would match a person’s signature against voter rolls before a ballot is accepted immediately.

Tunisia: Tunisia set to announce election date Wednesday | Khaleej Times

Tunisia’s interim government will on Wednesday announce the date of a national vote initially set for July 24 but which the electoral commission wants to postpone, a government spokesman said.

“The date of the election … will be announced tomorrow (Wednesday) after a government meeting with all the parties concerned,” Taieb Baccouche told journalists after a meeting of cabinet ministers on Tuesday. Baccouche declined to say whether the July 24 date is likely to be changed.

Bangladesh: Prime Minister of Bangladesh for strong Electoral Commission and e-voting | The Daily Star

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday reiterated her government’s plans to further strengthen the Election Commission (EC) and introducing electronic voting system in the country to hold free, fair and neutral elections in future.

“None would be able to cast more than one vote and snatch ballot boxes with the introduction of new digital system in polling process. Apart from Bangladesh and Pakistan, the electronic voting system has already been introduced in all countries of the subcontinent,” she said.

The Voting News Daily: Wisconsin Senators Fight Sweeping Recalls, After 2 months on sidelines, voter ID bill heading to another North Carolina House committee

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Senators Fight Sweeping Recalls | Courthouse News Service Three Republican state senators have challenged the recall petitions that voters filed against them. And it looks like recall elections of three Democratic senators, if they occur, will come separately, a week after the six Republican recall elections scheduled for July 12. The three Republicans’…

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Senators Fight Sweeping Recalls | Courthouse News Service

Three Republican state senators have challenged the recall petitions that voters filed against them. And it looks like recall elections of three Democratic senators, if they occur, will come separately, a week after the six Republican recall elections scheduled for July 12.

The three Republicans’ complaints are based on a technicality: that the recall petitioners are not identified as members of the Committees to Recall.

State senators Randy Hopper (Fond du Lac), Luther Olsen (Ripon) and Dan Kapanke (La Crosse) sued the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board in separate but virtually identical complaints in Dane County Court.

Saudi Arabia: Shoura favors women voting in Saudi Arabia | Arab News

The Shoura Council recommended to the government on Monday that it take necessary measures to allow Saudi women to vote in municipal elections under Islamic law.

The decision was taken unanimously by members of the council, which also discussed the annual report of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs during its 38th regular session, chaired by the Shoura Chairman Abdullah Al-Asheikh in Riyadh on Sunday.

Georgia: NAACP and Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda File Voting Rights Lawsuit in Georgia | AM Law Daily

Representing a coalition of voting rights, civil liberties, and minority rights groups, Dechert filed suit in an Atlanta federal district court on Monday accusing Georgia state officials of neglecting their obligations under federal law to provide voter registration services to low income residents at public aid offices.

Under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), states are required to distribute registration forms every time an individual fills out an application for public assistance (such as food stamps or Medicaid). The law, known as the “motor voter” law, was passed during the Clinton Administration and also required state motor vehicles departments to provide voter registration applications. Dechert, which is working pro bono, filed the complaint on behalf of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and the Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda.

Editorials: Can’t we do better? Voter ID legislation isn’t needed here | PennLive.com

If Pennsylvania has a voting issue, it is that not enough people go to the polls. It isn’t with people trying to pass themselves off as someone else at the voting booth.

Nonetheless, lawmakers are expected this week to rigorously debate legislation aimed at stopping voter fraud, which is not a problem, by requiring all registered voters to present valid photo ID when going to the polls.
Presently, an ID is required when you vote at a new voting precinct for the first time.

Pennsylvania: State House Poised To Act On Pennsylvania Voter ID Bill | Capitol Ideas

The State House Could Vote as soon as Wednesday on a deeply divisive proposal requiring voters to show photo identification before they cast their ballots.

In anticipation, the chamber’s Democrats gathered in the Capitol Media Center this afternoon to speak against the legislation, which they say is intended to suppress Democratic turnout and disenfranchise urban voters, college students and senior citizens.

The bill is a “solution in search of a problem,” Rep Babette Josephs of Philadelphia said of the legislation sponsored by House State Government Committee Chairman Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler.

Rhode Island: Military Voting Bill from Secretary of State Mollis Set for Rhode Island House Vote Tuesday | RI.gov

This Tuesday, the state House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on legislation from Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis that would change Rhode Island’s presidential primary calendar in order to ensure that military voters and others living overseas get their ballots faster.

The legislation is in response to the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, which requires states to mail ballots to overseas voters at least 45 days prior to an election.

Nevada: Attorney General, Democrats argue special election should be wide-open affair | Las Vegas Sun

The secretary of state, as the resident expert on Nevada elections, should have the final word on the format for the race to fill the 2nd Congressional District seat, the attorney general and state Democratic Party argued in briefs filed with the Nevada Supreme Court.

The parties are asking the court to overturn a decision by District Judge Todd Russell in Carson City, who held that the central committees of the two major parties should nominate candidates for the Sept. 13 election. The secretary of state had opted for a wide-open special election.

The Supreme Court has requested the Sept. 13 election be delayed to give it more time to consider the issue.

West Virginia: Candidate alleges election fraud in Charleston West Virginia Mayoral contest | Charleston Daily Mail

Janet “J.T.” Thompson, who waged an unsuccessful bid for mayor of Charleston, has alleged that officials tampered with election equipment to guarantee incumbent Danny Jones’ victory. Thompson filed a complaint with the city clerk’s office Friday. She didn’t return calls Monday seeking comment.

Thompson alleges that officials in the Kanawha County Clerk’s office allowed “certain persons to manipulate the Electronic Voting System in the general election of May 17, 2011,” according to the complaint on file at the city clerk’s office.

Macedonia: Elections were competitive, transparent and well-administered in Macedonia, international observers in Skopje say | ODIHR

Yesterday’s early parliamentary elections were competitive, transparent and well-administered throughout the country, but certain aspects such as the blurring of the line between state and party require further attention, the international observers concluded in Skopje today.

On election day, voters were able to freely express their choice in a peaceful atmosphere, despite some irresponsible claims of irregularities by political parties. The voting and counting process was assessed as overwhelmingly positive, with no significant differences between Macedonian and ethnic Albanian areas.

Thailand: Poll watchdog raises Thai vote-buying fears | Straits Times

Vote-buying is a concern in Thailand’s upcoming national election, an international monitoring group that will be observing the polls said on Monday.

The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is deploying about 60 observers nationwide for the July 3 vote, the first since Thailand’s deadliest political unrest in decades last year.

Moldova: Local elections largely met international standards, but remaining legal and regulatory issues need to be considered, observers say | ODIHR

Moldova’s local elections largely met OSCE and Council of Europe election-related commitments, in conditions conducive to a competitive campaign and offering voters a genuine choice, international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities concluded in a statement issued today.

However, the observers noted that remaining legal, administrative and regulatory issues need to be further considered in order to ensure continued forward progress.

Bangladesh: Election Commission dialogue: LDP against e-voting in Bangladesh | bdnews24.com

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at a meeting with the Election Commission has said they do not favour electronic voting system.

“The voting machine is useless without fingerprint. We urge not to waste public money by introducing this system,” LDP president Oli Ahmed said on Tuesday.

The EC started dialogue with 38 registered political parties on the issue with LDP being the first to join the talks at 10:15am on Tuesday.

Pakistan: Drive to get votes registered through June 10th | The Nation/Pakistan

The AJK election commission enlisted the names of those unregistered but eligible for voting to ensure that they get the right to vote in the upcoming general elections to be held on June 26.

Mirpur Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Tayyab Chaudhry told The Nation on Monday that the eligible voters, whom names could not yet be included, were advised to get the same in the concerned district offices of the Election Commission.

New Zealand: Referendum education campaign kicks off in New Zealand | 3 News

The Electoral Commission has begun a six-month campaign to prepare voters for the question theyll be asked at the general election: not just which government they want, but whether they want to keep the current MMP [mixed member proportional] system or switch to one of four alternatives.

Its been 18 years since First Past the Post was ditched and MMP was introduced, and now the Government wants to see if voters still think its a good idea.

But its going to take more than just an extra form on voting day – an education campaign thatll cost $5 million dollars of taxpayers money has just got underway.

Bangladesh: Election Commission opens dialogue with Bangladesh parties from today | Financial Express

The Election Commission (EC) starts dialogue with the registered political parties from today (Tuesday) to collect their views to make the election laws time befitting, reports UNB.

During the dialogue with the political parties, the commission will discuss various issues including delimitation of constituencies, state funding for political parties and constitution process of the commission, use of electronic voting machine (EVM) and also amendment to the Representation of People’s Order (RPO).