Monthly Archives: June 2012

The courtroom drama over South Carolina's primaries is not over. A judge will wade into the state's elections again Thursday during a hearing over whether there should be a runoff for the Democratic nomination in the new 7th Congressional District. The dispute is affecting the Republican primary for the seat because election officials have been barred from sending out absentee voter ballots until the case is resolved. The runoff is scheduled for Tuesday.

Wisconsin: Recount in Wanggaard-Lehman Senate race under way | madison.com

Kuwait: More than half Kuwait’s parliament resigns in protest over election annulment | Reuters

More than half of Kuwait's members of parliament have resigned in protest at a court's decision to annul an election that had given the Islamist-led opposition a majority. The resignations deepen the political crisis in the major oil exporter which has so far avoided the widespread dissent that has ousted heads of state in some other Arab countries. Wednesday's ruling effectively dissolved the parliament elected in February and reinstated its predecessor, but the resignations by many lawmakers who were in the previous parliament deprives the 50-seat assembly of more than half its members, making it difficult to function. The number of resigning lawmakers had risen by Thursday to at least 26, parliamentary sources said. "It does us no honour to be part of the 2009 assembly which was brought down by the nation," said Jamaan al-Harbish after Wednesday's ruling, speaking on behalf of several lawmakers. "We thus tender our resignations," he added.

Mexico: Back to the future: Mexico’s presidential election | The Economist

Only 12 years ago Mexican voters kicked out the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which had ruled for seven decades through a mixture of consent, co-option, corruption and coercion. Vicente Fox, a former Coca-Cola salesman who defeated the PRI, brought high hopes that his country would match the economic promise of the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA), between Mexico, the United States and Canada, with a correspondingly vibrant democracy. Yet unless the opinion polls are wildly wrong, Mexicans are about to vote the PRI back to power on July 1st, in the person of Enrique Peña Nieto. Aged 45, the telegenic Mr Peña cuts a seemingly fresh figure, with his team of bright technocrats from the world’s best universities. Yet he is a scion of the PRI’s most retrograde regional political machine. His allies include several old-fashioned caudillos, and his opponents say (though he denies) that he has engaged in old-fashioned practices, such as buying favourable television coverage (see article). Why is Mexico poised to take this apparently backward step? The answer starts with the disappointments of the past dozen years of rule by the conservative National Action Party (PAN), first under Mr Fox and then Felipe Calderón. Buffeted by Chinese competition and then by the American recession, the economy grew at an annual average rate of just 1.8% between 2000 and 2011. Poverty has edged up, not helped by the woes of the broader world economy. Lacking both a congressional majority and negotiating skills, neither president managed much in the way of structural reforms, leaving more or less intact the PRI’s legacy of public and private monopolies that stifle the economy and the education system. Mr Calderón chose to make security and battling powerful drug mafias the centrepiece of his presidency. Yet, with 60,000 dead, Mexicans are tiring of a “drug war” they at first supported.

Papua New Guinea: Polls may end Papua New Guinea’s tale of two prime ministers | Reuters

Papua New Guinea goes to the polls on Saturday with almost 3,500 candidates battling for just over a hundred parliamentary seats and control of what will be an unprecedented boom in funds as projects to develop natural resources start coming on stream. Voters hope the two-week-long election will end a prolonged political crisis which has left the South Pacific archipelago with two competing prime ministers for much of the past year after parliament backed Peter O'Neill, defying the courts which supported elder statesman Michael Somare. Analysts say it is impossible to predict a winner in a country where more than half of sitting lawmakers lose their seats at each election and where power goes to the leader who can cobble a coalition in post-election negotiations. "There are really two elections," Australian National University Papua New Guinea specialist Sinclair Dinnen told Reuters. "The first is where the people vote. Then after the elections, we see the process of coalition formulation." Adding to the uncertainty are the record number of 3,435 candidates from 46 political parties, all vying for just 111 seats in parliament.

The Voting News Daily: Voting Technology: Current and Future Choices, Citizens United gives free speech a high price

Blogs: Voting Technology: Current and Future Choices | The Canvass

In the next several years, new voting equipment will need to be begged, borrowed or bought in most of the nation’s jurisdictions. This raises at least two questions: In an age of galloping technological advancement, what should we buy? And, who’s going to pay for it? … When levers and punch cards went out, what came in? Two systems, one based on electronics (often with a touch screen) and the other based on optical scanners that “score” hand-marked paper ballots in the same way that standardized tests are scored. The electronic machines (aka DREs, short for “direct recording electronic” voting machines) dominated the market in the early part of the 2000s; but by 2008, optical scanning equipment had become more common. (See the map provided by Verified Voting.org for details.) A debate still rages between advocates of the two systems. Those who distrust electronic machines say they make votes hard to recount when an election is contested. Additionally, “there should be a way that a voter can check on a hard copy—independent from the software—that their vote was captured as they intended it to be,” says Pam Smith of Verified Voting.org, an organization that advocates for a voter-verifiable paper trail for elections. Read More

Editorials: Citizens United gives free speech a high price | Jessica Levinson/Politico.com

As election 2012 progresses, there’s continuing hubbub about the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which paved the way for super PACs. Proponents of campaign-finance laws see the ruling as opening the floodgates for unlimited, often undisclosed, money to overwhelm our political system. Opponents view it as a victory of free speech over government regulation. Where does the truth lie? While super PACs may be “speaking” up a storm, it’s now difficult to hear anyone else. That can’t be good in a representative democracy, which has long prided itself on protecting free speech. A quick tour through the campaign-finance law landscape demonstrates there is much to be concerned about — unless you’re a wealthy donor or well-funded corporation. Read More

Editorials: Citizens United gives free speech a high price | Jessica Levinson/Politico.com

Editorials: Coordinated nationwide effort could prevent as many as 5 million citizens from voting | San Jose Mercury News

Elections have consequences -- some of them unintended. How many voters realized that Republican victories in 2010 would mean the disenfranchisement of potentially millions of voters? Since then, state lawmakers nationwide have introduced more than 180 bills to restrict voting rights, a trend that began during the George W. Bush administration. At least 18 states have passed laws that include requiring photo identification to vote, ending election-day registration and reducing access to early and absentee voting. The Brennan Center for Justice estimates that as many as 5 million Americans could have difficulty voting this fall as a result.
These laws are no coincidence. They are a coordinated effort among Republicans to narrow the voting population in ways that will increase their power. The courts and the federal government are stopping some of these attempts, but it's like playing Whack-A-Mole. The courts won't be enough to protect voting rights if people keep electing lawmakers who want to restrict them. Voters need to make this an issue.

National: National Native American leader wants Indian Health Service to provide voter registration | The Washington Post

The head of the largest group representing Native Americans and Alaska Natives said federal and state governments should provide voter registration at Indian Health Service facilities. Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians, said in a phone interview Tuesday with The Associated Press that the health facilities should be designated voter registration sites in the same way state-based public assistance agencies are under the National Voter Registration Act. He said the facilities are ideal for voter registration because they’re in many tribal communities. “Not all Native Americans are registered, and that’s one of the things we are pushing for this year is to turn out the largest Native vote in history,” Keel said. Indian Health Service spokeswoman Dianne Dawson, reached late Tuesday evening, said the agency had no comment at this time.

California: Same-day voter registration bill moves forward in California Legislature | Ventura County Star

Election seasons come and go, and with them public attention to the political process waxes and wanes. "The really heartbreaking fact of the matter is that a lot of the excitement kicks in about two weeks before Election Day. But by then it's too late, and a lot of people are left sitting on the sidelines," said Kim Alexander, president and founder of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation. "If we can engage people when they're excited, we have an opportunity to create a lifelong voter." The Legislature on Tuesday moved closer toward embracing one way to help Californians seize that moment by allowing voter registration to take place through Election Day — an approach that has sparked sharp partisan divisions in the past. On a party-line vote, with majority Democrats in support, the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee approved a bill to allow same-day voter registration as soon as a new statewide computerized database is operational. The system will let elections officials check the status of all voters statewide.

Georgia: Elderly voters concerned they may be cleared from voter rolls | CBS Atlanta 46

Hundreds of senior citizens at a Southwest Atlanta high rise are concerned they may lose their right to vote. Betty Walton has lived at the Atrium at Collegetown for nearly a decade, but according to Fulton County, her address isn't real. "That doesn't make any sense. You can see the building, so it does exist," said Walton. Walton is one of hundreds of seniors who may soon be removed from the voter rolls because of a mistake by the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections. About a week ago, the department sent out a letter telling Walton and others like her that they had to provide proof that their address was valid. The letter said if they didn't, they would be purged from the voter rolls.

Montana: Montana Case Could Give Supreme Court A Second Look At Citizens United | TPM

The Supreme Court could give Citizens United a second look this month as it decides whether to take up a lawsuit against the state of Montana, which wants its century-old state law restricting corporate influence in elections to stay in place. Montana is the only state so far to assert its existing corporate-money ban should still stand after the court ruled in 2010 that corporations could spend unlimited amounts on election ads via independent groups. The Montana Supreme Court upheld the 1912 Corrupt Practices Act, but the Supreme Court ordered that the law not be enforced while it reviewed a challenge by the conservative group American Tradition Partnership. The court is widely expected to strike the law down in keeping with its previous decision. Still, advocates view the case as their best chance yet to force the justices to re-examine elements of their landmark 2010 opinion that they say have already proven flawed in light of the subsequent deluge of campaign spending. Twenty-two states and Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have signed on with Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock (D) in support of their claim.

New York: New York City Elections to Cost $80 Million | Epoch Times

Despite proposed budget cuts for sensitive programs such as day care centers and education, it is estimated the city will spend a total of $80 million for the four citywide elections in 2012, according to the Independent Budget Office (IBO). Each of the four elections may cost as much as $23 million, IBO states. The Republican presidential primary held in April, the first of the four elections had a small turnout. Only 5 percent of eligible voters cast ballots; the cost per vote was around $522. The price wouldn’t be as expensive if it weren’t for tight scheduling. There are usually three citywide elections per year, but a federal judge ruled that the congressional primaries in September are too close to the general election in November. Military personnel overseas would not have enough time to receive absentee ballots before the general election. Thus, a whole extra day of voting had to be added.

North Carolina: The cost of adding an item to a ballot | NBC17.com

Wake County commissioners made it clear Monday night in a 4-3 vote that a sales tax increase to pay for transportation projects is not likely to be in the hands of voters this November. They declined to schedule a public hearing that would lead the way for putting a half cent sales tax on the November ballot. If commissioners happen to change their minds, what would it take for that item to wind up on your ballot? Board of Elections Director Cheri Poucher said it’s not as simple as adding an item. At the very latest, commissioners would have to decide to add it to the ballot by the end of July, but all the special paper for ballots needs to be ordered by the end of this month.

Wisconsin: Lawmaker withdraws in Photo ID case | JSOnline

A state lawmaker is pulling his name from an effort to intervene in a lawsuit over the state's photo ID law. Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer (I-Manitowoc) said he was withdrawing his name from a motion filed in the case after questions were raised about whether he was violating state ethics law by accepting legal help in making the filing. "I'm not trying to get in a big fight over a technicality," Ziegelbauer said. "It's more trouble than it's worth." Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, filed the complaint against Rep. Robin Vos (R-Burlington) and Ziegelbauer based on a Journal Sentinel report that the two were refusing to say who was funding their legal work.

Wisconsin: Recount under way in state Senate recall race | RealClearPolitics

A painstaking recount began Wednesday in the recall election for a GOP state senator from Racine County, where witnesses and campaign officials watched as tabulators sifted through stacks of ballots and pored over poll records. State Sen. Van Wanggaard requested the recount earlier this month after an official canvass showed him trailing Democratic challenger John Lehman by 834 votes, or 1.2 percent of the nearly 72,000 ballots cast in the June 5 election. The state Senate currently has 16 Democrats and 16 Republicans, so the winner of the 21st District recall race will give his party majority control. However, the power balance could shift anew before the Legislature reconvenes in January, depending on the results of the November election. On Monday, state election officials ordered the Racine County Board of Canvass to begin the recount. By state law, the board has 13 calendar days from when the order was issued to complete the task. In this case, because that date falls on a Sunday, the board will have until the following day: July 2. Meeting that deadline could be a challenge. Two months ago the same board conducted a recount in a judges' race that involved fewer than half the number of ballots. That effort stretched into the eighth day. County Clerk Wendy Christensen said she expected the current recount to be time-consuming but was confident the county would meet its deadline. She said the tabulators would work Saturday and take Sunday off, but that they may end up working the following weekend.

Dominican Republic: Paramilitary groups sought to destabilize elections, top official says | DominicanToday.com

Central Electoral Board (JCE) president Roberto Rosario yesterday revealed the presence of paramilitary groups in nearly all polling places on election day May 20, to usurp the legal authority and influence Dominican Republic’s election results. Rosario cited Monte Plata and Boca Chica among the main sites where the Electoral Military Police had to counter those groups, adding that he has documents with names of individuals and with the details as to how they operated. He said in each polling place groups were formed with six former military, trained to destabilize the process. The official said he’ll disclose the evidence on the groups’ activities once all the documentation is gathered from the polling places nationwide. "These actions are documented, and eventually we will make it public and release it all in writing."

Indonesia: Candidates pledge to keep election fair, peaceful | The Jakarta Post

Candidates for Jakarta governor signed an agreement at the city police headquarters on Wednesday, pledging to keep the city secure and peaceful all through the election process. Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding the voters’ list, which may result in the election’s postponement, the candidates chatted with each other and waved to media people during the signing ceremony. Apart from committing to support an honest and fair election, other points in the pledge include the readiness of the six pairs of candidates to accept the election’s results, ability to control supporters and willingness to face the law if found to have violated the law.

The Voting News Daily: E- Voting: Trust but Verify, Will the Supreme Court Consider a Campaign Finance Mulligan?

National: E- Voting: Trust but Verify | Scientific American

With the Presidential elections looming up, some have been asking why the United States is not making more of electronic voting. It’s being adopted in many other countries around the world, with India, Brazil, Estonia, Norway and Switzerland as notable examples. However, the United States has several examples in recent years where it has backed out of electronic voting that it had already implemented. For example, in 2010, a trial system for remote voting over the Internet in Washington DC (known as the “Digital vote by mail”) was shown to be vulnerable, when it was penetrated by a research team from the University of Michigan, demonstrating how a real attack could render any results unsound, without detection. The attack was documented in a recent paper by researchers from the University of Michigan. So who is right? Read More

National: Will the Supreme Court Consider a Campaign Finance Mulligan? | TIME.com

The Affordable Care Act isn’t the only consequential law whose fate the U.S. Supreme Court holds in its hands. Before the end of the month, the Court is also expected to decide whether to hear a Montana campaign-finance case that may alter the landmark Citizens United ruling. The Montana case, American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock, arose from a challenge to the state’s campaign-finance law. In 1912, when Montana’s “copper kings” routinely drew on their immense wealth to buy off local politicians, the state’s citizens approved a ballot initiative called the Corrupt Practices Act, which banned corporate money in state campaigns and imposed strict limits on individual donations. Today, state legislators can take no more than $160 from individual donors; candidates for governor can take about $1,000. The winner of a Montana Senate race spends an average of $17,000—compare that to the more than $125 million that’s been spent in Wisconsin on a series of recall elections since last winter. Montana’s insistence on transparency and the barriers it built to contain corporate spending have “nurtured a rare, pure form of democracy,” wrote Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer. Read More

National: Will the Supreme Court Consider a Campaign Finance Mulligan? | TIME.com

Arizona: Voter ID law opponents ask Supreme Court to let lower court’s rejection stand | Arizona Capitol Times

Opponents of Arizona’s voter identification law asked the U.S. Supreme Court Monday to let a lower court decision take effect that would end the state’s requirement of proof of citizenship for voter registration. Justice Anthony Kennedy last week ordered a temporary stay of that ruling in response to state officials who said the decision, coming “on the eve of a new election cycle,” would have thwarted Arizona’s ability to “ensure fair federal elections.” Kennedy gave opponents of the law until Monday to file a response to the stay. Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne has until Wednesday to reply. Arizona has been requiring proof of citizenship since 2005, after the passage of Proposition 200. That law requires county recorders to reject any voter registrationform without proof of citizenship and it requires people to present identification when they show up to vote.

Colorado: Chaffee County CO election officials taken to task | Pueblo Chieftain

A citizen group fighting election officials in Chaffee and five other counties contends a judge’s order violates the group’s right to obtain public records from the officials. The order restricts the group’s members from requesting records for information the group’s attorney can obtain from the officials, through normal court process, for its lawsuit against them. “A gag order like this one is obviously a gross infringement on our collective rights,” alleged Marilyn Marks, Aspen, the founder of the group Citizen Center. The group is asking Magistrate Judge Michael Watanabe to rescind his June 4 order.

Florida: Voting Rights Coalition Files Another Suit Over Florida Voter Purge | TPM

Civil and voting rights organizations on Tuesday filed a new lawsuit alleging that Gov. Rick Scott’s voter roll purge in Florida violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which bans discrimination in voting practices. Florida officials say the purge is meant to keep non-citizens off the voter rolls, but many legitimate voters ended up on the state’s inaccurate purge list.

Georgia: State Senator Concerned About Possible Voter Purging; County Officials Deny Wrongful Removal | Public Broadcasting Atlanta

A group of seniors living in a West End high-rise were recently sent letters from Fulton County’s Department of Registration and Elections saying they were in jeopardy of being purged from the voter rolls. County officials have since apologized and said those voters are not being removed, but a Democratic state senator remains concerned. Senator Vincent Fort says approximately 3,000 residents received the letters and were informed they were in danger of being removed from the voter rolls because their addresses no longer existed, and residents were told to attend a hearing to confirm their address. Election officials say after realizing the addresses were current they sent residents another notice saying they would not have to attend the hearing. But Senator Fort says approximately 1,200 who did not respond to the election department were nearly purged from voter rolls last week by the county’s election board, but the board ultimately decided against removing the residents. Fort says says a board member made a motion to remove the voters, but the motion was not seconded. But the state senator says he remains worried about what could happen on election day.

Minnesota: St. Paul files brief in suit challenging Minnesota Voter ID amendment, wants measure kept off ballot | TwinCities.com

St. Paul has challenged the legality of the constitutional amendment requiring voters to present photo ID at the polls. In a so-called "friend of the court" amicus brief filed to the Minnesota Supreme Court on Monday, June 18, the city questions the accuracy of the language voters will read if the amendment reaches ballots. It also says Gov. Mark Dayton's veto of the bill in April should force the Republican-led Legislature to rewrite the question and the amendment's title. "The so-called 'photo ID' question is not authorized by law and should not be placed on the ballot," St. Paul City Attorney Sara Grewing said in a statement. "The Minnesota Supreme Court should order that this bill be sent back to the Legislature for a veto override or further legislative clarification." The brief, which is for interested groups other than the litigants, is for a lawsuit to keep the proposed amendment off the November ballot. The Supreme Court plans to hear arguments July 17 and expects to rule in time for the ballots to be ready on Nov. 6.

Mississippi: With voter ID awaiting federal scrutiny, Mississippi tries to tally how many people lack photo cards | The Republic

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said Monday he's trying to determine how many people in Mississippi lack the type of photo identification that might eventually be needed for voting. In last November's election, 62 percent of Mississippi voters approved a constitutional amendment that would require voters to show a driver's license or other form of photo ID at the polls. House Bill 921, passed this spring by the GOP-controlled Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, aims to put the mandate into law. Because of Mississippi's history of racial discrimination, it is required by the 1965 Voting Rights Act to get federal approval for any changes in election laws or procedures. Such approval is not guaranteed. In recent months, the Justice Department has rejected ID laws from Texas and South Carolina, amid concerns that they would dilute minority voting strength.

Missouri: State Supreme Court upholds traditional candidate filing procedure | STL Today

The Missouri Supreme Court today ruled that candidates for state legislative seats in redistricting years don't have to live in the newly-redrawn districts. In unanimous rulings, the high court said two St. Louis area candidates whose qualifications were challenged can be on the Aug. 7 primary ballot after all. The decisions, reversing a ruling last week by the Missouri Court of Appeals in St. Louis, also remove a cloud that had loomed over several dozen other candidates for legislative seats across the state. The court agreed with a decades-long interpretation of the Missouri Constitution allowing candidates to run for a House or Senate seat if they live in any component part of a district from which the new district had been taken. "Had the drafters of the constitution wished to limit eligibility to candidates residing only in those parts of an old district that were absorbed into the new one, they could have crafted narrowing language to that effect," the court said in both rulings. "They did not."

Pennsylvania: Councilman: Voter ID Requirement Forces Allegheny County to Break Federal Law | Essential Public Radio

Allegheny County’s Board of Elections will likely vote in favor of a lawsuit against the state’s new voter ID law. The vote is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. Democrats on the board are hoping to strike down a law that requires photo identification to be presented before Pennsylvanians can vote. However, the board's lone Republican said the lawsuit is redundant, expensive, and politically motivated. Board of Elections Chairman and County Councilman John DeFazio (D-At Large) said the new law is costly and ill-timed, requiring the county to retrain its elections employees before the November 8 general elections. “There’s nothing concrete [in the bill] about getting paid for all of this extra training and money it’s going to cost us,” said DeFazio. “There’s nothing definite on that yet for the county, if we’re going to get all this money back.”

South Carolina: Bromell Tinubu: Lift ban on recalibrating voting machines | GoUpstate.com

A candidate recently certified as the Democratic nominee in South Carolina's new 7th congressional district wants to halt a lawsuit seeking to order her into a run-off. Gloria Bromell Tinubu said in papers filed Monday with the state Supreme Court that a temporary restraining order keeping election officials from recalibrating voting machines should be lifted. Two voters who support one of Bromell Tinubu's Democratic opponents, Preston Brittain, have sued to try to force the two candidates into a run-off. State election officials certified Bromell Tinubu's victory last week.

Tennessee: Special master sought in missing voter files case | Knoxville News Sentinel