Wisconsin: Octogenarian Former GOP State Rep To Run As Fake ‘Democrat’ In Wisconsin Recalls | TPMDC

Don’t let anyone say there isn’t bipartisanship in Wisconsin.

The newest example of Wisconsin Republicans recruiting fake Democratic candidates, to force Dem primaries and make trouble in the state Senate recalls: Otto Junkermann, an 82-year old former Republican state representative, who will challenge official Democratic candidate Nancy Nusbaum for the recall against GOP state Sen. Rob Cowles.

As the Green Bay Press Gazette reports, Junkermann very openly professes to support Cowles:

Otto Junkermann, 82 of Allouez, said he thinks “very highly” of Cowles, a Republican also from Allouez, and will run against Nusbaum as a “conservative Democrat.”

“I respect Rob a great deal. I’ve known him, I followed him into the Assembly and took the position he had when he went into the Senate, and I always admired him,” Junkermann said.

Junkermann served in the Assembly as a Republican for one term from 1987-88. He was also a Brown County supervisor from 1982-87 and ran again in 2002, 2004 and 2008 but lost.

Massachusetts: Fred Karger’s Voter Fraud Allegations Against Mitt Romney | The Daily Caller

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for president, is facing allegations that he committed fraud when he voted in the January 2010 Massachusetts special election. The allegations come from fellow Republican presidential candidate Fred Karger, a self-desribed “old opposition research campaign consultant” who is running a long-shot campaign.

Karger filed a complaint Monday with the State of Massachusetts, asking that Romney be investigated for registering to vote from an address that he did not live at. During the special election Romney was living in one of two places, and neither of them was in Massachusetts, Karger alleges.

Indiana: White seeks to ban TV cameras in Recount Commission hearing | The Indianapolis Star

Tuesday’s hearing on Charlie White’s eligibility to serve as Indiana Secretary of State will be streamed online, the Indiana Recount Commission decided today.

White’s attorney expressed that some questions at the hearing might be inappropriate in reference to his sex life. Commission members said if that’s the case the cameras can be turned off.

Also, the commission denied a request by that White’s wife, Michelle, that not to be subpoenaed to testify because of the possibility of self-incrimination. The commission said she must show up and assert her Fifth Amendment rights.

Indiana: Recount Commission rejects defense motions in Indiana Secretary of State’s hearing | Evansville Courier & Press

Both the current and former wives of embattled Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White will testify next week before a state panel that is considering whether to remove the Republican from office. So will Dan Parker, the chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, which is pressing the case. And he’ll have to bring records with him that demonstrate when he first learned of the residency issues that he believes should disqualify White.

The Indiana Recount Commission made those decisions Tuesday afternoon at a hearing that precedes one scheduled for June 21, during which it will take eight hours of testimony on whether White should be removed from office.

North Carolina: North Carolina bill forcing voters to show photo ID before voting heading to Senate vote, likely passage | Daily Journal

North Carolina lawmakers are moving ahead on legislation to require people to show a photo identification card before voting.

A Senate judiciary committee approved the legislation Tuesday. A vote by the full Senate could come later Tuesday. The measure already has passed the House by a margin too small to override a potential veto by Gov. Beverly Perdue. Perdue has indicated she might veto the legislation.

Editorials: Voting: It’s (Apparently) Not for Everyone | Campus Progress- Campus Progress

Yesterday, Hardball and The Rachel Maddow Show ran segments highlighting the ongoing efforts by  several state legislatures to make it more difficult to vote, blasting lawmakers for disenfranchising younger and older citizens. As Campus Progress has been reporting, state legislatures in Maine, Wisconsin, and numerous other states are working towards passing or have already passed laws that require voters to have ID cards with them at the polls, and end same-day registration for voting.

Both Rachel Maddow and Hardball’s Chris Matthews expressed indignation at this trend. “The people who have the least trouble with the ID cards, the people who drove to the polling station, have an ID right in their pockets called their driver`s license and they are middle class people with enough money to own a car,” said Matthews. “And [if] they`re young enough to drive and old enough to have enough money to own a car, they are probably able to vote. It`s the younger person and older person who might be disenfranchised.”

Editorials: Lions and Tigers and Fraud, Oh My! Secretary of State Kris Kobach Is at It Again | Katie O’Connor/Huffington Post

In a recent column in the Wall Street Journal, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach takes a victory lap trumpeting the passage of his voter ID law. He writes: “You can’t cash a check, board a plane, or even buy full-strength Sudafed over the counter without [a photo ID]. That’s why it’s not unreasonable to require one in order to protect our most important privilege of citizenship.” Voting, however, is not a privilege; it is a fundamental right guaranteed by more constitutional amendments than any other right we have. Cashing a check, getting on an airplane, and buying a nasal decongestant are not similarly enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

The putative targets of photo ID and proof-of-citizenship laws are alleged perpetrators of registration and in-person voter impersonation fraud. However, voting rights groups have obtained records from Kobach’s own officethat deflate his claims that “[v]oter fraud is a well-documented reality in American elections.” The disclosed report, which covers Kansas elections from 1997 to 2011, shows merely 221 incidents for 14 years of elections, and 200 of these could not have been prevented by the new proof-of-citizenship and photo ID requirements. These include more than 98 fraudulent or erroneous absentee ballot applications, 18 instances of attempted or completed double-voting in different precincts or jurisdictions, 17 instances of felons voting, 16 instances of absentee ballot fraud, as well as reports of electioneering and voter intimidation. Photo ID and proof-of-citizenship laws, which at their best can only confirm identity at the polls and block ineligible noncitizens from registering, simply do not prevent any of the above conduct.

Editorials: Greg Kesich: Maine GOP not alone in trying to lower voter turnout | The Portland Press Herald

Find Maine on a map and you see that we are stuck in the upper right-hand corner of the nation, not on anyone’s way anywhere. But politically we can be right in the middle, and a little home-grown issue can turn out to be an item on someone’s national agenda.

How else can you explain the sudden interest in election reform bills, which have been hotly contested in this year’s legislative session?

It’s certainly not a response to voter fraud, although state Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster appears to have a gut feeling that it has been widespread since the Muskie era. (How else would all those Democrats win elections?)

Editorials: Opinion: The real victims of election ID laws | Justin Levitt/politico.com

With ballooning deficits and substantial unemployment among the urgent problems confronting the states, many state legislatures spent the first days of their 2011 session attempting to restrict the way that voters prove their identity at the polls.

Five states passed voter ID laws in 2011. The most stringent preclude citizens from casting a valid ballot unless they show specific documents. Opinion polls reveal that the public supports this idea. But those behind this effort have forgotten both their priorities and their obligation to safeguard the vote — the most fundamental of constitutional rights — not just for most U.S. citizens but for all.

The public supports restrictive ID rules because most Americans have ID. We think nothing of showing ID for conveniences, so we think nothing of showing it as a condition for a basic constitutional right. Because we have the correct ID, and our friends have the correct ID, we think every citizen has the correct ID.

Editorials: Von Spakovsky Spreads Falsehoods To Push For Voter ID Laws | Media Matters

In a USA Today op-ed, Pajamas Media blogger and former DOJ Civil Rights Division official Hans von Spakovsky employed numerous falsehoods to defend statutes requiring all voters to show identification before casting ballots. In fact, contrary to von Spakovsky’s argument, legal voters have been turned away from the voting booth because they lacked proper identification, the effects of voter ID laws may fall disproportionately on the poor and members of racial minorities, and instances of fraudulent voting are very rare.

Von Spakovsky Falsely Suggests Voter ID Laws Did Not Prevent People From Voting

Von Spakovksy: Plaintiffs Challenging Voter ID Law “Couldn’t Produce Anyone Who Would Be Unable To Vote Because Of The Voter ID Requirements.”

Editorials: Rosa Scarcelli: Maine Voting Rights Under Attack | Huffington Post

Following a disturbing national trend, Tea Party Republican Gov. Paul LePage and his allies in Maine’s Legislature have used questionable tactics to push through legislation to make it harder for people to vote.

Late on Friday afternoon, Republicans in the Maine State Senate gave the governor his wish and sent to him a bill that will end Election Day registration.

Maine has allowed voters to register to vote on Election Day for 38 years. In that time, there have been only two cases of voting fraud related to same-day registration.

Australia: Hanson a victim of fraud. Yet NSW Electoral Commission continues to deny access to vote data | Poll Blogger

Pauline Hanson vote challenge has been derailed with evidence lead in court that the allegation of missing votes was fraudulent.  (ABC News).  Mr. Sean Castle, the man behind the fraudulent allegations is likely to face court costs associated with Hanson challenge after he admitted to faking the allegations but will escape public prosecution in return for goving evidence..

“Mr Castle, a father of three, was granted protection from prosecution before being compelled to answer questions relating to the purported Electoral Commission email.

Brazil: Indian Voting Machines With Paper Trails to Be Field-tested | PCWorld

India’s Election Commission plans to test in July new electronic voting machines (EVMs) that will offer a voter a verifiable paper trail, following criticism from political parties and activists that the machines could be tampered with. But it is unclear whether the paper records of the vote will be discarded or saved after the voter has checked if his vote has been properly recorded. Some local newspaper reports in April said that the paper records would be destroyed after the voter had checked his vote.

The paper records should be saved and used in a recount or if any other dispute arises, said Hari Prasad, the security researcher who along with other researchers released a video last year that they said demonstrated vulnerabilities in the EVMs.

Albania: Albania Court Orders Recount Of Contested Ballots | Eurasia Review

The Electoral College late Monday night ordered a full recount of the contested ballots in the key race for mayor of Tirana, throwing the results of the poll back into doubt. The decision came after a Socialist opposition appeal which contested several decisions by the Central Election Commission, CEC, including the one that declared the ruling party candidate the winner of the race for the municipality of Tirana.

Contested ballots are ballot papers that have been designated by at least one representative of a political party in the counting stations as irregular. It is not yet clear what effect the re-evaluation will have in the final tally for the Tirana race.

Ghana: Preparations towards 2012 election in Ghana not satisfactory | The Statesman

In April this year, Ghanaians from all walks of life applauded the decision by the Electoral Commission of Ghana to employ the use of a Biometric Voters register for the 2012 general elections. Government also pledged its support and commitment, that same month through Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communications, to the Electoral Commission, stating that the exercise could cost over $80 million.

The Minister stated, “Though the cost might be a little high, it is not more than the cost of disputed elections, and addresses the issue of multiple voting to make our elections more credible”

The Voting News Daily: Expense of fake Democrats in Wisconsin primaries will top $400,000, Maine Senate Rejects Bill Requiring Photo ID to Vote

Wisconsin: Expense of fake Democrats in primaries will top $400,000 | JSOnline A plan by Republicans to run fake Democratic candidates in this summer’s recall elections would cost taxpayers upward of $428,000, according to election clerks. In one Senate district alone, the cost would top $100,000, interviews with county and municipal clerks show. Even if Republicans…

Wisconsin: Expense of fake Democrats in primaries will top $400,000 | JSOnline

A plan by Republicans to run fake Democratic candidates in this summer’s recall elections would cost taxpayers upward of $428,000, according to election clerks. In one Senate district alone, the cost would top $100,000, interviews with county and municipal clerks show.

Even if Republicans back off their plans in some of the districts, taxpayers are all but guaranteed to have to pay the costs of the primary, because Democrats now plan to run multiple candidates in order to guarantee all the recall elections are held on the same day. Tuesday is the filing deadline.

Recall elections for six Republican senators are scheduled for July 12. But if there are multiple candidates from the same party in any of those elections, the July 12 election becomes a primary, with a general recall election to follow on Aug. 9.

Maine: Maine Senate Rejects Bill Requiring Photo ID to Vote | MPBN

The Maine Legislature continued its wrangling over a series of voting bills today when it took up LD 199, a bill that would require Maine voters to present an approved photo identification card to local voting clerks when casting ballots in state and municipal elections. Proponents of the bill say the policy is already in force in eight other states and will serve to discourage fraud in state balloting. But critics argue the measure will disenfrancise voters by discouraging participation in the election process.

For Democrats like Sen. Justin Alfond, of Portland, a bill to require a state-approved photo identification card in order to vote is a solution in search of a problem.

“There’s simply no evidence that voter ID requirement solves any real problems here in Maine,” he said. “People simply do not impersonate other people in order to vote.”

National: Did Mitt Romney Commit Voter Fraud? | Mother Jones

Did Mitt Romney commit voter fraud when he cast a ballot for Scott Brown in last year’s special election in Massachusetts? On Monday, one of his lesser known opponents for the GOP presidential nomination, Fred Karger, filed a complaint with Massachusetts state election officials alleging that he voted for Brown, as well as in other Massachusetts elections, when he was not in fact a resident of the Bay State.

In his complaint, Karger lays out a chronology of Romney’s real estate moves since his failed presidential bid in 2008. According to Karger’s timetable, Romney and his wife, Ann, bought a $12.5 million home in La Jolla, California, in May 2008. (“I wanted to be where I could hear the waves,” Romney told the AP of his move to the West Coast.) Thereafter, Romney became a regular at California political events, even campaigning for Meg Whitman during her gubernatorial bid. A year later, in April 2009, the Romneys sold their home in Belmont, Massachusetts, for $3.5 million, and registered to vote from an address in the basement of an 8,000 square-foot Belmont manse owned by their son Tagg. But where the Romneys really lived these past couple of years seems to be a bit of a mystery. While Romney was appearing at so many California political events people were speculating he was going to run for office there, the National Journal reported in May 2009 that the Romneys had made their primary residence a $10 million estate in New Hampshire.

Indiana: White says special prosecutor in his case voted illegally | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com

Embattled Secretary of State Charlie White has filed a complaint against one of the special prosecutors in his felony voter fraud case, alleging he is guilty of the same offense White’s charged with.

White, 41, filed the eight-page complaint to Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards Friday. White accuses Special Prosecutor Dan Sigler, his ex-wife Nancy Sigler and current wife Sherie Hampshire of voting at the wrong polling sites in the past six years.

Sigler denied the accusations, calling it “sour grapes” on White’s part.

Maine: Move to Eliminate Maines Same Day Voter Registration Law Draws Protests | MPBN

A bill to do away with same-day voter registration in Maine is expected to be signed into law this week. The measure gained legislative approval late Friday night after a long and heated debate in the state Senate. Supporters claim it will safeguard against voter fraud and make life easier for overworked municipal clerks on Election Day. But civil liberties groups say the law will disenfranchise thousands of Maine voters.

LD 1376 was approved by the state Senate on Friday night after a lengthy, and at times emotional, debate–none more emotional than Brunswick Democrat Stan Gerzofsky.

“And people can walk out of this room tonight if they don’t want to hear the truth. That’s fine with me. But my voice isn’t going to get lower because you’re doing it. It’ll get louder, and louder, and louder,” he shouted, to the bang of a gavel. “Mister Chair, I’m sorry I’m yelling.”

Australia: Hanson fraudster admits deception | smh.com.au

The man who led Pauline Hanson to believe she was robbed of votes in the NSW upper house poll has admitted in court to forging an email that led her to challenge her March election loss.

In the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sydney teacher Sean Castle was granted protection from prosecution before being compelled to answer questions relating to a purported Electoral Commission email.

Ms Hanson has said she was told of an email exchange between NSW Electoral Commission staff that alleged 1200 votes in her favour in the March 26 poll were put in a pile of blank ballots by “dodgy staff”.

National: Phish and Chips: Why Cyber Attacks Are So Difficult to Trace Back to Hackers | Scientific American

Cyber attacks may not be a new phenomenon but the recent successes scored against high-profile targets including CitiGroup, Google, RSA and government contractors such as Lockheed Martin underscore the targets’ current failure to block security threats enabled by the Internet. Malicious hackers use the very same technology that enables online banking, entertainment and myriad other communication services to attack these very applications, steal user data, and then cover their own tracks.

One common practice that attackers employ to evade detection is to break into poorly secured computers and use those hijacked systems as proxies through which they can launch and route attacks worldwide. Although such attacks are an international problem, there is no international response, which frustrates local law enforcement seeking cooperation from countries where these  proxy servers typically reside.

Editorials: Opposing view: ID laws ensure election integrity | Hans A. von Spakovsky/ USAToday.com

Why are states such as Texas and Kansas passing voter ID laws? Quite simply, to ensure the integrity of our election process.

Our View: Republican ID laws smack of vote suppression

All Americans who are eligible to vote must have the opportunity to do so. But it’s equally important that their ballots are not stolen or diluted by fraudulent votes. That is one of the reasons that Americans — by an overwhelming margin, across all racial and ethnic lines — support such common-sense reform.

Voter ID can significantly defeat and deter impersonation fraud at the polls, voting under fictitious names, double-voting by individuals registered in more than one state, and voting by non-citizens. As the Supreme Court has pointed out, “flagrant examples of such fraud … have been documented throughout this nation’s history.”

Connecticut: Secretary of State Merrill announces awarding of nearly $1.2 million grant for voting technology in CT | ConnecticutPlus.com

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today announced that Connecticut has successfully won a federal grant of $1,184,441 from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a federal body established as a result of the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

The federal grant was attained through Secretary Merrill committing a state match of $62,000 and was awarded June 8th through federal HAVA funds available to states. The new funds can be used for a variety of functions used to enhance voting technology, such as maintaining or enhancing Connecticut’s optical scan voting machines, testing or investing in new voting systems for disabled voters, and making improvements to the state Centralized Voter Registration database.

New York: Kavanaugh bill in New York state assembly would make ballots easier to read and use | Civic Design

Add your comments to a posting on the web site for WNYC’s radio show, “It’s a Free Country,” that presents a proposed redesign for the New York ballot.
The Brennan Center for Justice worked with Design for Democracy and theUsability in Civic Life project to develop an updated best practice ballot design that takes into account the particularities of voting in New York state.

On the show, which aired on June 9, 2011, New York state assemblyman Brian Kavanaugh and Larry Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice discuss how important design is to successful voting and elections. On the show, Larry runs through the proposed design improvements and why they’ll make a difference. There are images of a redesigned ballot on the site, as well, and the show invites your comments.

Philippines: Comelec may get new IT provider, other than Smartmatic, in next polls | Inquirer News

The postponement of next month’s Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao polls may have virtually quashed the dreams of the Smartmatic Philippines to be the exclusive automated election service provider in the Philippines.

“No more. They’ll have to compete [with other providers] in 2013,”

Commission on Elections chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. told reporters when asked if the poll body would still be contracting Smartmatic for future elections in the country.

Smartmatic and its partner, Total Information Management Inc., won the P7-billion contract for the May 2010 national and local elections. The consortium produced some 80,000 Precinct Count Optical Scan machines for the exercise.

Thailand: Thai Royalists Urge People Not to Vote in July Election | VoAnews

In Thailand, the political campaign season is fully under way ahead of next month’s closely contested national elections. While much of the attention is on the standoff between the ruling Democrat Party and the opposition Pheu Thai party, there are scores of lesser-known parties vying to be heard.

But one political movement that has played a major role in politics in recent years is now urging people not to vote at all.

Thailand: Election Commission has no objection to European Union monitoring poll | Bangkok Post

The Election Commission has raised no objections to the European Union’s observer role in the July 3 election. EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond yesterday said the commission was ready to allow the EU to monitor the poll in Thailand since EU member countries also had embassies in the kingdom.

Mr Apichart said the EC had told the EU during a recent meeting that it had no objection to the EU request to send a team of officials to observe the July 3 poll as the commission was confident it could supervise the general election in line with international standards.