Wisconsin: Costs add up as counties plan for recall elections | Pierce County Herald

With a state senate recall election, a recall primary and a Supreme Court recount, local election clerks are seeing their 2011 budgets fall apart.

While it’s difficult to plan for these unprecedented elections, St. Croix and Pierce county clerks figure the unbudgeted expenses will total about $25,000 for each county. Those projections don’t include the amounts each city, village and town will pay for poll workers and their own miscellaneous expenses.

Oklahoma: Vaults breached twice, Cherokee chief recount still not under way | Tulsa World

Principal chief candidate Bill John Baker says testimony given during a Cherokee Supreme Court hearing today has proven that vaults holding the votes were breached between Sunday after the election and Monday morning.

“We just found that the vault has been breached twice since they said that they’ve locked it up and the envelopes have been taken out,” Baker said to reporters during a recess in the hearing today. “We’re going to go back in and see what the justices think about them saying they hadn’t breached the vault and the vault being breached twice.”

The Supreme Court hearing was to determine whether ballots were safely maintained and that the chain of custody wasn’t breached during the tabulation. In the hearing are four Supreme Court justices; both chief candidates; Attorney for the Election Commission Lloyd Cole of Stilwell, Election Commission chair Roger Johnson, Smith attorney Dean Luthey and Baker attorney Kalyn free; and seven members of the media.

Oklahoma: Cherokees protest election outcome | Cherokee Phoenix

About 60 people, ranging from children to elders, gathered June 30 at the Election Commission building to protest the certified results of the Cherokee Nation’s principal chief race and support challenger Bill John Baker.

“What we’re doing today is we’re asking and praying that the Election Commission do an honest count because we have had several different stories of how the count was arrived at after the election was to be certified Sunday morning (June 26) just after 7 a.m. by the Election Commission,” Linda O’Leary, a former Tribal Councilor and one of the protestors, said.

Certified election results show Principal Chief Chad Smith with 7,609 votes to Tribal Councilor Baker’s 7,602. Unofficial results released by the EC on June 26 showed Baker leading with 7,600 votes to Smith’s 7,589.

An Internet- and Facebook-based group called Cherokees ForTruth organized the peaceful protest. According to its webpage, the protests were slated for June 30-July 1 at the EC building.

Rhode Island: Rhode Island General Assembly sends voter ID bill to Governor | Boston.com

After lengthy and at times acrimonious debate Thursday, the Rhode Island House of Representatives sent to Gov. Lincoln Chafee a bill that would require voters to show identification at the polls starting next year.

A driver’s license, a passport, military ID or a voter identification card are among the acceptable forms of identification under the legislation. The bill would require the state to provide free voter identification cards. Until 2014, voters could also use a birth certificate, Social Security card or Medicare card.

Guyana: Guyana working to have elections this year | demerarawaves.com

Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally says there will be no turning back in the move to general election after the final voters list is certified by Chief Election Officer Gocool Boodoo in early September.

Addressing political party representatives at the opening of a workshop on Wednesday the chairman said there are some who may “conspire to thwart” their efforts.

“Our action plan shows that he, (Boodoo) if everything is correct, we will leave no stone unturned to have everything correct, early September, I think it’s the 4th that he will be ready to provide that list. After that, that list has a shelf life of three months, do the math yourself,” Dr. Surujbally stated. The general and regional elections are constitutionally due by December 28.

Morocco: Moroccans Vote on Draft Constitution That Gives More Power to Parliament | Bloomberg

Moroccans vote in a referendum today on a draft constitution drawn up at the orders of King Mohammed VI, with activists who demand a reduction in the monarch’s powers calling for a boycott of the vote.

Under the proposal, the prime minister would be chosen from the party that wins elections. The king would retain the power to overrule or dissolve the parliament, and his role as “commander of the faithful” in the Islamic country. Polls open at 8 a.m. local time and close at 7 p.m., with 13 million people eligible to vote. It’s not clear when results will be announced.

New Zealand: New Zealand Electoral Commission deputy chair appointed | Scoop News

The Government today announced the appointment of Jane Huria as a member and Deputy Chair of the Electoral Commission.

Ms Huria’s appointment by the Governor-General is for a term of four years.
“Parliament has unanimously endorsed the appointment of Ms Huria, who will play a vital role in preparing New Zealand for this year’s General Election and the referendum on our voting system,” Justice Minister Simon Power said.

The new consolidated Electoral Commission was created as part of the Government’s wider programme of electoral reform and became operational on 1 October last year.

Bangladesh: Bangladesh abolishes caretaker government for elections | The Associated Press

Bangladesh’s Parliament on Thursday rescinded a 15-year-old requirement that general elections be overseen by nonpartisan caretaker governments — a move the opposition says could allow incumbents to rig the votes.

The ruling coalition of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pushed the constitutional amendment through Parliament with a vote of 291-1, well more than the two-thirds majority needed in the 345-member chamber. The opposition’s 38 members abstained. The caretaker system came under fire in 2007 after a military-backed caretaker government stayed beyond its mandated three months and delayed the voting by about two years.

Opposition lawmakers, however, argue the new rules will allow Hasina to steer the result of the next parliamentary polls due in 2014, and have vowed to protest the move by continuing a campaign of general strikes and street protests started this month.

Egypt: Foreign Ministry to develop Egyptian expatriate voting process | Al-Masry Al-Youm

The Foreign Ministry seeks to develop an expatriate voting process for any upcoming elections or referendums in collaboration with other state bodies, it said Thursday. The ministry’s official spokesperson, Menha Bakhoum, said in a statement that there are many obstacles to organizing the balloting process for Egyptians abroad, such as the absence of legislative rules.

The interim government granted Egyptian expatriates voting rights when it amended election laws earlier this year.

However, in an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology Maged Othman ruled out the possibility of expatriates taking part in parliamentary elections set for September.