Maldives: Maldives to introduce electronic voting for 2013 election | Haveeru Online

The Maldives is to introduce the electronic voting technology for the first time for the presidential election to be held in 2013, Elections Commission announced today.

In a statement, the commission said its members unanimously made the decision at a meeting held today. The commission said it would make necessary amendments to the election laws and submit the amended legislations to relevant authorities in order to introduce the electronic voting technology for the 2013 election.

Norway: Prime Minister: ‘Vote for democracy’ | The Foreigner

Local election voting points towards increased participation at the polls this time around compared with four years ago. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg urges voters to show what is important for them.

NRK reports about 16 percent cast their ballot in Tromsø, yesterday, 4 percent higher than in 2007. Whilst the broadcaster says Sarpsborg and Lillehammer showed a good turnout, with queues in Kongsberg. Voters in Oslo were not put off by the rain, and there are indications of increased voter numbers in Stavanger and Bodø today.

The Voting News Weekly: TVN Weekly September 5-11 2011

Electronic Voting in Abu Dhabi

The Senate Judiciary committee, chaired by Senator Durbin, held a hearing on new voting laws in states across the country. The chairman of the Maine Republican Party accused more students of voter fraud. A memo from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation informed employees not to mention that voter ID cards are free – unless they are specifically asked and a state employee was fired for alerting his friends of this policy using a government email address. Reports from British Colombia and India cast doubts on the security of online voting proposals. The Atlantic analysed Arizona’s challenge to the Voting Rights Act. The Muncie Star Press raised concerns over Indiana’s plan to remove the names of unopposed candidates from ballots and The Denver Post noted that democracy didn’t come to a halt when citizen volunteers were allowed to inspect ballots from Saguache County.

The Voting News Daily: Maine GOP chair questions 19 voter registrations in 2004; probe reveals displaced medical students voted legally, Congress Investigates GOP War on Voting

In the latest twist in the debate over same-day voter registration, the chairman of the Maine Republican Party on Friday questioned why 19 individuals staying in a South Portland hotel were allowed to register to vote on Election Day in 2004. As it turns it out, the individuals were American college students, who appear to have registered and voted legally.

Questioned by the Sun Journal, Jason Bartlett, general manager of the Holiday Inn Express on Sable Oaks Drive, said the students had been “permanent guests” at the hotel because their medical school on Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean had been destroyed by Hurricane Ivan.

The 19 students, who came from states across the country, were among 383 students enrolled at St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine. All were displaced by the storm. According to Bartlett, the students were sent to Maine to continue their studies while their school was repaired. St. Joseph’s College in Standish assisted in the relocation program, according to a college spokesperson. The relocation was the subject of a Press Herald story published in September 2004. Read More

In the current issue of Rolling Stone, I examine how Republican officials in a dozen states have passed new laws this year designed to impede voters at every step of the electoral process. It’s a widespread, deliberate effort that could prevent millions of mostly Democratic voters, including students, minorities, immigrants, ex-convicts and the elderly, from casting ballots in 2012. Congress is, belatedly, starting to pay attention, and yesterday afternoon Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, held a hearing on “New State Voting Laws: Barriers to the Ballot?”

“I am deeply concerned by this coordinated, well-funded effort to pass laws that could have the impact of suppressing votes in some states,” said Durbin, the number two Democrat in the Senate.

“Rather than protecting right to vote,” said Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, a witness at the hearing, “we’re seeing a brazen attempt around the country to undermine it.” He pointed to legislation that would make it more difficult for citizens to register to vote or for groups like the League of Women Voters to register new voters, cut back on early voting, require government-issued IDs that specifically target young and minority voters, and disenfranchise ex-felons. Read More

Maine: GOP chair questions 19 voter registrations in 2004; probe reveals displaced medical students voted legally | Sun Journal

In the latest twist in the debate over same-day voter registration, the chairman of the Maine Republican Party on Friday questioned why 19 individuals staying in a South Portland hotel were allowed to register to vote on Election Day in 2004. As it turns it out, the individuals were American college students, who appear to have registered and voted legally.

Questioned by the Sun Journal, Jason Bartlett, general manager of the Holiday Inn Express on Sable Oaks Drive, said the students had been “permanent guests” at the hotel because their medical school on Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean had been destroyed by Hurricane Ivan.

The 19 students, who came from states across the country, were among 383 students enrolled at St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine. All were displaced by the storm. According to Bartlett, the students were sent to Maine to continue their studies while their school was repaired. St. Joseph’s College in Standish assisted in the relocation program, according to a college spokesperson. The relocation was the subject of a Press Herald story published in September 2004.

National: Congress Investigates GOP War on Voting | Rolling Stone

In the current issue of Rolling Stone, I examine how Republican officials in a dozen states have passed new laws this year designed to impede voters at every step of the electoral process. It’s a widespread, deliberate effort that could prevent millions of mostly Democratic voters, including students, minorities, immigrants, ex-convicts and the elderly, from casting ballots in 2012. Congress is, belatedly, starting to pay attention, and yesterday afternoon Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, held a hearing on “New State Voting Laws: Barriers to the Ballot?”

“I am deeply concerned by this coordinated, well-funded effort to pass laws that could have the impact of suppressing votes in some states,” said Durbin, the number two Democrat in the Senate.

“Rather than protecting right to vote,” said Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, a witness at the hearing, “we’re seeing a brazen attempt around the country to undermine it.” He pointed to legislation that would make it more difficult for citizens to register to vote or for groups like the League of Women Voters to register new voters, cut back on early voting, require government-issued IDs that specifically target young and minority voters, and disenfranchise ex-felons.

California: Legislative Analysis Shows Election Administration-Related Problems Caused by Prop. 14 | Ballot Access News

As reported previously, AB 1413 had been set for a hearing in the California Senate Elections Committee on September 7. That hearing was never held, but in preparation for the hearing, legislative employees had prepared an analysis of the bill, which was introduced to make alterations in the “top-two” Proposition 14 procedure. Proposition 14 passed in June 2010 and says all candidates for Congress and partisan state office run on a single primary ballot in June. Then, only the two top vote-getters may run in November.

The analysis says, “In 2009, as part of a state budget agreement, a measure was placed on the ballot for the voters to consider authorizing a ‘top-two’ primary election system. At the same time that measure was approved, the Legislature also approved a series of changes to the Election Code to implement a top two primary election system. Unfortunately, due to the nature in which those statutory changes were adopted, they created a number of problems for the effective and efficient operation of elections. Last year, the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee held an oversight hearing to hear from elections officials about some of the problems with those statutory changes. Among other problems, county elections officials testified that certain ballot printing requirements created an unnecessary burden, and could significantly increase election costs.

Colorado: Review of Saguache ballots not transparent, citizens maintain | Center Post Dispatch

The majority of those participating in the hand count of the Saguache 2010 election Aug. 29-31are in agreement that key materials they needed to review in order to determine the cause of election irregularities were withheld from the public.

The count varied little from the initial totals released by the county following the SOS review of the retabulation and the subsequent recount. Most importantly, judges were not allowed to break mail-in ballots into precincts for a close examination or to count Precinct 5 votes as a separate group.

Voting Blogs: Saguache County Case Asks: Whose Election is it Anyway? | PEEA

Lost in the national news about Congressional hearings and high-profile fights in Maine, Ohio and South Carolina is a running controversy in one Colorado county that raises fascinating questions about our system of elections and who’s ultimately in charge. Saguache County, located southwest of Denver, is huge in size (Rhode Island and Delaware could fit inside) but tiny in population (6,108 in the latest Census).

In November 2010, the County’s general election featured, in addition to federal and statewide races, a re-election contest for the County Clerk and Recorder position held by Melinda Myers. On Election Night, results appeared to show that Myers, a Democrat, had had lost to her GOP challenger Carla Gomez. A few days later, though, Myers’ office announced that her office had discovered an error and conducted a retabulation that resulted in her winning re-election.

Indiana: Judge: Ballot suit ruling Monday | Palladium-Item

Wayne Superior Court No. 2 Judge Gregory Horn will decide by Monday whether to order the Wayne County clerk to put the names of those running unopposed in Richmond’s Nov. 8 general election back on the ballot.

Horn presided over a preliminary hearing Friday in the lawsuit filed last week by Wayne County’s two political parties, two candidates in that election and two voters in districts where candidates are unopposed.

They filed an injunction asking for a prompt ruling opposing an interpretation of a new Indiana law that requires county clerks statewide not to list names of unopposed candidates on ballots in municipal elections. The Indiana Legislature this year created the law in the hope of helping counties save on election costs.

Texas: Elections Office In Limbo Over Voter ID Law | KSAT San Antonio

The upcoming Nov. 8 election could be the last one where no photo identification will be needed to vote if the state’s new voter I.D. law is given the needed pre-clearance by the U.S. Department of Justice. Jacque Callanen, Bexar County elections administrator, said normally the review takes 60 days.

“The Texas Secretary of State’s office says that could be by the end of next week,” Callanen said. According to the Voting Rights Act, any possible changes to the state’s election laws require pre-clearance because of the state’s history of discriminatory voting practices.

Maine: Latest GOP Voter Fraud Allegations Questioned | MPBN

The Maine Republican Party says 19 people who registered to vote on Election Day 2004 used a Holiday Inn Express in South Portland as their home address.

But the Sun Journal in Lewiston is reporting the 19 were American medical students who were “permanent guests” because their school on Grand Cayman Island was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The hotel manager told the paper that the students were sent to Maine to continue their studies while their school was under repair.

New York: State Heeds Minor Parties on Voting-Machine Complaint | NYTimes.com

New York State’s minor parties scored a major victory Thursday when the state’s Board of Elections agreed to alter a vote-counting anomaly that the parties argued was a threat to their very survival.

In a rare alliance motivated by self-preservation, the Conservative Party, the Working Families Party and the Taxpayers Party sued the board because of a problem involving new electronic voting machines. Computer software allows voters to fill in ovals on electronically scanned paper ballots for the same candidate on more than one party line, although the vote is counted only for the major party that is listed first on the ballot.

While the system did not affect the outcome for any individual candidate, it could have dealt a fatal blow to any minor party, which needs a minimum of 50,000 votes statewide in an election for governor to remain legally recognized for the ensuing four years without having to collect petition signatures each time it fields a candidate. The number of votes also determines the order in which parties appear on the ballot.

Liberia: Final list of candidates for October elections is published | The Washington Post

Liberia’s final list of candidates for the West African nation’s October elections has been published with 16 candidates vying for the presidential seat. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who took power nearly six years ago, is among the three female presidential candidates.

Sirleaf’s main contender is fellow Harvard University graduate Winston Tubman from the Congress for Democratic Change and ex-soccer star George Weah.

The Voting News Daily: Sen. Durbin raises alarm on state laws affecting voter turnout, Voter ID laws suppress turnout by blacks, elderly, panel told

National: Sen. Durbin raises alarm on state laws affecting voter turnout | The Hill’s Ballot Box Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is concerned voter turnout is at risk of being suppressed across the country — and thinks a spate of new state laws are to blame. Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on the…

National: Sen. Durbin raises alarm on state laws affecting voter turnout | The Hill’s Ballot Box

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is concerned voter turnout is at risk of being suppressed across the country — and thinks a spate of new state laws are to blame. Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, called a hearing Thursday to examine laws that limit early voting, require photo identification and regulate who can volunteer for voter registration.

The senator pointed to Texas and Florida as states that have moved to restrict voter registration drives in the name of curbing fraud, but said such fraud is almost nonexistent and is used as an excuse to disenfranchise voters.

“Protecting the right of every citizen to vote and ensuring elections are fair and transparent are … American values,” said Durbin, who will send a letter to governors in Florida, Wisconsin and Tennessee about voter-related concerns in those states.

National: Voter ID laws suppress turnout by blacks, elderly, panel told | The Clarion-Ledger

New voter ID laws in Alabama and other states could suppress turnout at the polls, particularly among blacks and the elderly, civil rights groups told Senate lawmakers on Thursday.

Studies show that millions of Americans don’t have the type of identification required under the new laws, Justin Levitt, an associate professor at Loyola Law School, said after a hearing of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on civil rights. “That’s an awful lot of people to shut out for no reason,” he said.

Republicans counter that the new laws are needed to prevent voter fraud. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, chairman of the civil rights subcommittee, said he’s “deeply concerned by this coordinated, well- funded effort to pass laws that could have the impact of suppressing votes in some states.”

Editorials: League of Women Voters’ Melanie G. Ramey: Lawsuit defends voting rights, upholds state constitution | madison.com

Ninety-one years ago, women won the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment. Without being able to participate in the election of their state and federal officials, the women suffragists found support — and ultimately the votes they needed — in Congress and state houses across the land. Then they created the League of Women Voters to educate voters and affect public policy through citizen education and advocacy.

With such a history, it is no wonder that the league is now concerned about the many eligible citizens who will be disenfranchised by Wisconsin’s new voter ID law. We can’t imagine what we, the people of Wisconsin, have done to deserve the most restrictive voting law in the nation. That is why we are challenging Wisconsin’s new law, while also helping citizens to obtain a voting ID if they do not have one.

The new law places an unfair burden on people who do not need a driver’s license, in particular the elderly, people with disabilities, low-income citizens and students. It excludes anyone who does not have an acceptable ID for any reason.

Colorado: Mesa, Jefferson County clerks seek court order to withhold Colorado Open Record Act-requested ballots | Valley Courier

In an attempt to obtain a court ruling differing from Saguache District Judge Martin Gonzales’ recent decision that ballots are public records, two Colorado county clerks have simultaneously requested court orders to withhold voted ballots from public inspection.

Mesa County Clerk Sheila Reiner and Jefferson County Clerk Pamela Anderson filed almost identical documents seeking the decisions yesterday in Grand Junction and Golden. Both clerks received Colorado Open Record Act (CORA) requests from Aspen election integrity advocate Marilyn Marks last month and both refused to supply the documents Marks requested.

Marks sought three specific types of voting records: the record of how each anonymous electronic ballot was voted, primarily, but also computer audits and system logs. Both clerks claim to have destroyed the computer audits and system logs, despite the fact that federal and state law requires a two-year retention period.

Colorado: Judge rules Secretary of State has access to election ballots; recall of Saguache County Clerk initiated | Crestone Eagle

According to District Judge Martin Gonzales, Saguache County Clerk Melinda Myers must allow Secretary of State Scott Gessler to have access to Saguache County’s voted ballots from the November 2010 election. 31. He plans to recount them the end of August. As promised prior to the hearing, Myers has agreed to follow the Judge’s ruling and turn over ballots.

But even as the Clerk and Commissioners sought clarity on the ballot issue, a group of citizens calling themselves the Committee to Recall Melinda Myers as County Clerk and Recorder continue to gather signatures on a recall petition. They hope to put the recall on the ballot in a special election, probably after the November 2011 regular election.

The controversy over the County Clerk stems from the November 2010 vote count, where a discrepancy was found between the first vote count, which was made on election night, and another vote count done on November 5.

Maine: GOP chair: College students sully elections – UM student appearing on list of 206: ‘I’m not welcome here’ | The Maine Campus

Despite being labeled a witch-hunt by some and provoking claims that students’ voting rights are under attack, more than 200 college students are being investigated by the Maine Department of the Secretary of State following allegations of voter fraud. The active investigation, which involves the Office of the Maine Attorney General, stems from allegations made in July by Charlie Webster, chairman of the Maine Republican Party, that 206 out-of-state students violated Maine election laws and committed “deliberate voter fraud” by registering to vote in two places.

Over the summer, Webster requested the names of out-of-state students at the University of Maine, the University of Maine at Farmington, the University of Maine at Machias and the University of Southern Maine’s campus in Gorham. He then compiled a list that was released publicly with the first initial, hometown and birth date of those he claims were registered to vote both in their hometowns and in the towns that house their schools. Webster contends that this is a clear violation of Maine election law.

The Maine Campus identified seven of the 206 students on the list who attend UMaine. Two were willing to discuss the issue at length. The others feared they would be further implicated in the controversy.

Maine: Same day voting question approved for November ballot | The Kennebec Journal

Mainers will have an opportunity this fall to affirm or overturn legislation passed in June to repeal the state’s 38-year-old law allowing voters to register on the day of an election. Secretary of State Charlie Summers validated more than 70,000 signatures — about 13,000 more than needed to force the referendum– on Thursday, about a month after opponents of the new legislation submitted them.

The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the voter registration law largely along party lines. Supporters of the measure said that eliminating same-day registration would help ease the workload of municipal clerks, even though a representative of the Maine Town and City Clerks’ Association said the group wouldn’t mind maintaining the practice.

The prohibition on same-day registration cannot take effect while a people’s veto is pending. A portion of the law that sets new limits on absentee voting is not part of the people’s veto effort and will not be affected by the referendum.

Maryland: Takoma Park Board of Elections Eliminates Online Absentee Voting | Takoma Park, MD Patch

Takoma Park voters who use an absentee ballot this November will have to mail or deliver their paper ballot because the Board of Elections (BoE) decided not to accept online voting as an alternative to for filing a paper absentee ballot. However, the BoE opted to maintain the online system to confirm a paper absentee ballot has been recorded.

At its meeting Wednesday evening, the BoE passed a resolution directing paper absentee ballots have to be cast in order for the vote to be counted. That resolution is: “That the ballot of record for absentee ballots is the paper ballot, and we will not accept only the electronic record as a ballot vote.”

The need for the resolution was the result of the language for the Internet Confirmation Guidelines for absentee voters produced by Scantegrity, a security system for optical scan voting systems that uses confirmation codes to allow a voter to ensure their ballot has not been changed and is included in the final tally, and presented to the BoE by Filip Zagorski. The confirmation guidelines for the absentee ballot are listed under the heading “Internet Confirmation.”

Massachusetts: Massachusetts Attorney General: No to voter ID initiative | The Sun Chronicle

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has rejected as unconstitutional a ballot initiative filed by Mansfield Selectman Olivier Kozlowski that would require voters to show government-issued identification at the polls. Kozlowski vowed Thursday to appeal the decision to the state’s Supreme Judicial Court.

In a written decision filed Wednesday, Coakley’s Deputy Chief Peter Sachs said requiring voters to have a government ID, which in Massachusetts costs at least $25, would violate the right to free elections in the state constitution.

New Hampshire: Clerks happy photo ID bill vetoed | EagleTribune.com

Town clerks across New Hampshire breathed a collective sigh of relief yesterday after hearing the controversial photo ID bill would not become law. But little did they know the proposal some called “a nightmare” may resurface in the next legislative session. Two local lawmakers intend to file new bills.

The state Senate voted, 17-7, on Wednesday to sustain Gov. John Lynch’s veto of Senate Bill 129. The legislation would have required voters to present a valid photo ID when casting ballots on Election Day. The goal was to eliminate voter fraud. The Legislature passed the bill last spring, but Lynch vetoed it, saying it would have created obstacles for voters.

Tennessee: Tennessee’s voter-ID law draws congressional scrutiny | wbir.com

Laws that require voters to show photo identification at the polls reduce election fraud, supporters of Tennessee’s new voter ID law told Senate lawmakers Thursday. Opponents of such laws countered that they target low-income, minority and student voters, who are more likely to vote for Democrats and might lack government-issued IDs such as driver’s licenses and passports.

Democrats and voting-rights advocates told members of the Senate subcommittee on civil rights that rural and elderly voters also could be disproportionately affected because they might have trouble traveling to get an ID. In Tennessee, voters over 60 aren’t required to have a photo on their driver’s licenses.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Employee Fired For E-Mail Defying Voter-ID Policy | TPM

Chris Larsen, a low-level Wisconsin state employee, was fired for the apparent cause of using his work e-mail to mock and disparage state policy to his co-workers, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The policy in question: The state’s decision for DMV employees to not tell citizens about the availability of free photo identification to satisfy the state’s new Voter-ID law, unless they ask first.

Larsen, a limited-term employee at the state Department of Safety and Professional Services, sent this e-mail Thursday morning to colleagues, encouraging them to tell all their friends about the free ID cards:

“Do you know someone who votes that does not have a State ID that meets requirements to vote? Tell them they can go to the DMV/DOT and get a free ID card. However they must ask for the free ID. a memo was sent out by the 3rd in command of the DMV/DOT. The memo specifically told the employees at the DMV/DOT not to inform individuals that the ID’s are free. So if the individuals seeking to get the free ID does not ask for a free ID, they will have to pay for it!!

“Just wanted everyone to be informed!! REMEMBER TO TELL ANYONE YOU KNOW!! ANYONE!! EVEN IF THEY DON’T NEED THE FREE ID, THEY MAY KNOW SOMEONE THAT DOES!! SO TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!”

He was subsequently fired for misuse of e-mail.

Wisconsin: Memo To DMV Workers Re-Ignites Voter ID Controversy | WISN Milwaukee

People opposed to Wisconsin’s voter identification law are concerned about an internal memo circulated to Department of Motor Vehicles employees in July. WisDot Executive Assistant Steve Krieser said in an interview that the memo instructed customer service representatives to comply with state law and only issue a photo identification card for free if it was specifically asked for by the customer.

Read DOT Letter

Kreiser said the law states, “we have to charge people the regular $28 rate (for photo identification) unless customers come in and request it, and certify that they need it for the purpose of voting.”

Kreiser said customers have been purchasing photo identification long before the new law went into effect. He said those looking for the cards for any other reason besides voting need to pay the fee. He also said as long as a customer actively seeks a free photo ID, workers at the DMV will help them.

Norway: All ready for the 2011 municipal and county council elections | Reuters

Municipal and county authorities throughout Norway have now completed their technical preparations and are ready for the elections to be held on 11 and 12 September. An extensive apparatus of IT systems, vote counting machines, technical equipment and election material is now in place at all the authorities across the country ready for the elections. This information comes from a review carried out by EDB ErgoGroup, which is a supplier of election systems for this year’s elections.

“Running the elections is a very big task for the country’s municipal and county authorities. As part of our deliveries, we have distributed around 3.1 million polling cards to eligible voters. Around 45 million ballot papers had been printed and distributed to local voting districts and party organisations”, explains Håvard Larsen, Head of the Solutions business area at EDB ErgoGroup.

In addition to deliveries from EDB ErgoGroup, a number of municipalities source some of their requirements through other channels. EDB ErgoGroup’s estimates indicate that the total number of polling cards distributed throughout Norway is in the order of 3.75 million, and that a total of as many as 60 million ballot papers are ready for use in the voting districts. EDB ErgoGroup has provided training for more than 1,500 election officials in municipalities throughout Norway.

The Voting News Daily: Wisconsin DOT official tells staff not to mention free voter ID cards to the public, Budget Cuts Mean Voting Could Get Ugly in 2012

Wisconsin: Top DOT official tells staff not to mention free voter ID cards to the public — unless they ask | madison.com An internal memo from a top Department of Transportation official instructs workers at Division of Motor Vehicles service centers not to tell members of the public that they can obtain voter identification cards…