The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly June 25 – July 1 2012

Bringing an end to a decade-long saga, Ireland sold it’s fleet of NEDEP voting machines to a recycling company for a mere €9.30 each. In a momentous week of decision for the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court also decided two significant election-related case, blocking Arizona’s requirement for voters to show proof of citizenship beyond what is required on the Federal voter registration card, and strengthening their 2010 Citizens United decision by reversing a decision of the Montana Supreme Court. Both decisions were by 5-4 votes. Colorado election activist Marilyn Marks prevailed in her three-year quest to establish that ballots are open to public inspection. Stating that Federal laws that prohibit systematic removal of voters from voter rolls within 90 days of an election do not refer to non-citizens, a U.S. District Court justice halted a Justice Department attempt to block Florida’s controversial voter purge. Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai asserted that the State’s new Voter ID law will help his party’s nominee to win the State’s electoral votes. The Mitchell South Dakota Daily Republic looked into the checkered history of the ES&S Model 650 central count scanner after a programming error caused problems in the State’s June 5 primary and, after a week-long delay, Egypt’s election commission announced the the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate Mohammed Morsi had won the nation’s first presidential election in over 40 years.