Monthly Archives: December 2012

Decisions by local election officials to recount all early votes cast before Nov. 6 will cost taxpayers $21,355, according to figures provided by the office of Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker. That expense includes at least $2,272 for sheriff’s deputies, who ordered spectators out of the Supervisor of Elections Office moments after A Nov. 11 recount, then stood watch over crowds of disgruntled partisans the following weekend.

Michigan: GOP operative Ron Weiser of Ann Arbor in hot water over remarks about Detroit voters | AnnArbor.com

Ann Arbor resident and high-ranking GOP fund-raiser Ron Weiser is facing criticism after a video surfaced of him making allegations of voter fraud and crime in Detroit at a tea party gathering in Milford, the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday. In the video, which was filmed in August by a Democratic operative and posted to YouTube by the Michigan Democratic Party, Weiser discussed Detroit’s population decline and the lack of political “machines” as reasons Republicans should be optimistic about the election.

Missouri: Technology moving elections toward electronic ID | Columbia Missourian

Although Missouri has no photo identification requirement for voting, thousands of residents showed their driver’s licenses to get ballots this year. That could become the new norm because of technological advances that use of the bar codes embedded in driver’s licenses to check in people to vote. In roughly 20 states and about one-fifth of Missouri counties, local election officials this year used laptop computers or tablets to verify eligible voters. In many of those instances, prospective voters provided a driver’s license or voter registration card containing a bar code, which when scanned by poll workers automatically matched their identities against a computerized list of registered voters to determine if they were eligible to vote and in the correct precinct.

South Carolina: Big precincts, long lines and voting machine shortages: It’s all relative | TheState.com

My first inclination was to applaud Richland County legislators for thinking about maybe reconfiguring the county’s voting precincts, nearly two-thirds of which have more than the 1,500 voters that state law allows — nearly half of those with more than 1,000 extra voters, and one with nearly four times the legal limit. But as with so very, very many things at the perilous intersection of legislative hegemony, executive authority and local self-rule, the news is only good in relative terms. Sort of like you’re much better off when you’ve only lost your job, as opposed to losing your job, your home and your family.

South Carolina: Election workers: Missteps on past turnout spurred errors | TheState.com

Richland County’s elections office used turnout from previous elections to help decide the number of voting machines distributed last month, two poll managers and a machine technician said. That might have been one of many miscalculations by the Elections & Voter Registration office – but so far not publicly acknowledged – that prompted machine shortages that created hours-long lines and disenfranchised uncounted others. State law requires one machine for each 250 registered voters. The law has no specific provision for using turnout as a gauge.

Wisconsin: Records show 1 in 8 register on voting day | madison.com

State election records show that voters in Wisconsin’s Democratic-leaning counties have been more likely to register to vote at the polls, but voters in Republican-leaning areas also made heavy use of the state’s same-day registration law. The Wisconsin State Journal reported that in three recent statewide elections, one in eight ballots came from voters who registered that same day, according to data from the Government Accountability Board. The data was for the November 2008 and November 2010 elections, and the June 2012 gubernatorial recall election.

Egypt: Opposition alleges referendum rigging as Islamists claim victory | guardian.co.uk

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has claimed victory in the first round of the country’s bitterly divisive constitutional referendum, with opposition forces complaining of large-scale rigging and violations. Unofficial results from Saturday’s first round showed 56% approval to 43% rejection on a low turnout of 33%, with a clear no win in Cairo, one of the 10 governorates where polling took place. The referendum is to be held in the country’s remaining 17 governorates next Saturday – where prospects for a no win are poorer. The figures were reported by the Freedom and Justice party (FJP), the political wing of the Brotherhood, which has been accurate in previous elections.

Ghana: Despite Some Glitches, Ghana’s New Biometric Voting System Widely Viewed as a Success | TechPresident

Ghanaians went to the polls last Friday to cast their ballots for president. Widely viewed as a poster child for stability and democracy in a region that is fraught by civil war and conflict, the West African country must now decide how to invest its newly discovered oil wealth. The current elections placed the incumbent President John Dramani Mahama, 58 (@JDMahama), of the National Democractic Congress (NDC) against Nana Akufo-Addo, 64 (Nadaa2012), of the leading opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). Mahama favors generating wealth by investing the country’s oil revenues in infrastructure, while Akufo-Addo counters that the way to raise the population out of poverty is to invest the money in free primary and secondary education. The average Ghanaian makes $4 per day, with the majority of the population yet to experience the benefits of oil revenues.

Iran: Election laws under debate | The Washington Post

Proposed changes in Iran’s election laws are proving contentious, sparking a debate over who should decide which candidates can compete in June’s contest to succeed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The possible reforms and the controversy around them mark another round in the struggle between Ahmadinejad and his more conservative rivals, who hope to stymie any chance that an ally of the administration might continue its agenda, including the populist economic policies that many here believe have contributed to Iran’s recent fiscal woes.

Japan: Conservatives win landslide election victory | latimes.com

The conservative party that dominated post-war Japan is back in power after a three-year absence, in a landslide election victory Sunday that will result in hawkish Shinzo Abe returning as prime minister. Abe, 58, who served in the post once before, is likely to pursue a tougher stance toward China and prevent the nation from abandoning nuclear energy. The conservative Liberal Democratic Party was projected by NHK Television to win 291 out of 480 seats in Japan’s lower house, while its ally, the New Komeito Party, had 30. That would give them the two-third majority needed to overrule the upper house, perhaps breaking deadlocks that have long stymied Japanese governments.

Papua New Guinea: Disqualified Papua Candidates Take Election Commission to Court | The Jakarta Globe

Two potential candidates for Papua’s gubernatorial elections have reported the poll commission to the state administrative court, after they were disqualified by the Papua General Elections Commission on Monday. The elections commission, known as the KPU, declared that the running pair, Barnabas Suebo and John Tabo, had not passed the verification phase to run for the governor position. “On Friday, we registered our lawsuit against the Papua province KPU,” said Mathias Rafra, a spokesman for John.

South Korea: Park Geun-hye wins South Korea’s presidential election | The Washington Post

Park Geun-hye spent part of her childhood in South Korea’s presidential palace, raised by an autocratic father who seized power in a military coup 51 years ago. She returns now as the democratically elected president of a nation concerned about its slowing economy and mounting social problems. With her narrow victory in Wednesday’s election, Park, 60, becomes an unlikely leader: She’s the first female president in a nation dominated by men, and she’s a conservative selected by voters to address their largely left-leaning wishes, including greater engagement with North Korea and a major expansion of government welfare spending.

The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly December 10-16 2012

December 16, 2012

In a wide ranging speech in Boston, Attorney General Eric Holder recommended that the US should consider automatically registering eligible voters and extending voting hours in response to problems encountered in the November election. A Republican consultant admitted that Voter ID laws and long lines at the polls help Republicans win elections. Over a thousand absentee ballots were rejected in Florida because signatures didn’t match those on file. A New Jersey State Senator describes the State’s experiment with email voting “a complete mess.” Ohio Secretary of State would like the Federal government to fund voting machine replacements. The fate of Pennsylvania’s voter ID legislation may not be settled until next Fall. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has reconsidered his suggestion that the State eliminate same day registration and opposition parties accused the government of rigging Ghana’s presidential election.

National: Virginia lawmakers split on election reform plans | The Washington Post

Three Virginia congressional Democrats witnessed similar scenes on Election Day: long lines at polling places around the commonwealth, with not enough poll workers or voting machines to handle the heavy turnout. And voters, in Virginia and elsewhere, made similar complaints about waits that sometimes lasted for hours. But the three lawmakers came away with two very different solutions to the problem. Sen. Mark R. Warner (Va.) and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (Va.) have joined a Delaware Democrat to offer a bill that would give grants to states that make it easier for residents to register and cast their ballots. Rep. James P. Moran (Va.) went in his own direction, introducing legislation that would require states to allow early voting and online registration.

Editorials: Are Voter ID Laws Here to Stay? | ProPublica

Voter ID laws were one of the most contentious issues of the past election season. (Here is everything you need to know about the laws.) Proponents insisted IDs should be required at polling places in order to thwart fraud. But there has been little evidence of such fraud and Democrats argued that the laws were meant to suppress voters. The impact of the laws on this past election isn’t clear. But one thing is clear: There are still pushes for the laws in many states. So what happens next? We’ve rounded up the places that could see voter ID in future elections, the status of laws still pending and what effect, if any, this year’s pushback against voter ID will have going forward.

Arizona: Maricopa County election workers come under attack | ABC15

The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office said it had to endure a series of attacks during the two weeks it took workers to process votes after the election. “It does make me very angry. And I’ve never had to be angry after an election,” said Helen Purcell, Maricopa County Recorder. Purcell said she’s never seen anything like it after an election. “I had to lock down the facility, have everybody have to have a guard go to their cars, which I hate, but that’s what we had to do,” said Purcell.

Arkansas: State Senator Proposes 2 Voter ID Bills | Arkansas Matters

The battle over voter ID laws has made its way into Arkansas. On Thursday, Senator Bryan King filed two bills requiring identification at the polls. Senator King filed a voter ID bill during the last legislative session in 2011 which passed in the House of Representatives, but got stuck in the Senate. Now King is trying again with two bills.

California: Santa Maria Election Decided by Defective Ballots? | The Santa Barbara Independent

The difference between second and third in the race for two seats on the Santa Maria City Council was two votes. Out of 19,404 total votes, that’s spectacularly close, a statistical tie. And as fate would have it, three City of Santa Maria residents inadvertently received ballots without the city council election on them. Who knows who the voters are or if they would have made a difference — they evidently didn’t notice the problem, or at least notify election officials, who didn’t notice themselves until a closer look. But it means current Councilmember Bob Orach squeaked past Etta Waterfield for the second open seat on the council. Terri Zuniga, a Democrat who ran and lost in 2010, claimed the top spot.

Colorado: Sticker shock nixes Republican’s recount effort | Boulder Weekly

A Republican candidate for state legislature requested a recount of Boulder County’s election results last week in an effort to give election integrity activists an opportunity to examine concerns about how the election was run. But now Ellyn Hilliard, who ran unsuccessfully against Democrat Jonathan Singer for state representative from District 11, has withdrawn her request after being told by Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall’s office that the recount would cost her nearly $28,000. (Candidates requesting recounts must pay for them unless the recount is automatically triggered by margin of victory of 0.5 percent or less.)

Florida: Elections chief, in St. Lucie, says recount deadlines may be too tight for counties to meet | Palm Beach Post

Emerging from three hours with the elections supervisor of St. Lucie County on Thursday— the only county that missed the deadline for filing final election results — Secretary of State Ken Detzner said he was concerned that current deadlines may not give counties enough time to complete recounts. Detzner said he has asked his staff to research the length of time other states give their election officials to conduct recounts. St. Lucie County missed the deadline by 8 seconds, Walker said. “Clearly when there is a recount, there needs to be a reasonable amount of time,” Detzner said, acknowledging that election workers in St. Lucie worked through the night to meet the deadline and that election laws need to reflect what is humanly possible.

Florida: Dems to Justice Department: probe Florida election law | Palm Beach Post

A divided U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will not convene hearings on Florida’s new election law, despite a request from the state’s six Democratic members of Congress, who charged that the measure intentionally limited access to the polls by blacks and many other Florida voters. But four members of the deadlocked commission – all Democrats – are independently requesting a U.S. Justice Department probe into the origins of the law, HB 1355, passed last year by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Rick Scott. And U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, said Thursday that after four newly-elected Democratic congressmen are sworn in next month, bringing the state’s Democratic delegation to 10, he also hopes to take the issue directly to the Justice Department with their backing. “I’m going to try to get all 10 to sign on and we’ll see what the Justice Department does,” Hastings said. “After all, we have a smoking gun here.”

North Carolina: Forsyth County Commissioners wade into voter ID controversy | Winston-Salem Journal

Some Forsyth County commissioners are asking state lawmakers to approve a voter identification bill if it comes before the General Assembly next year. County commissioners held their annual meeting on Thursday with lawmakers representing Forsyth County in the state house and senate. A bill requiring voter ID passed the N.C. General Assembly in 2011, only to meet with a veto by Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue. An attempt by Republicans to override the veto fell short of the required two-thirds veto.

Bulgaria: Lack of Quorum Halts Bulgarian MPs Key Election Code Vote: Lack of Quorum Halts Bulgarian MPs Key Election Code Vote | Novinite

The Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, dismissed Friday all present MPs due to lack of quorum. The move happened after 3 consecutive checks. The Members of the Parliament had to continue Friday morning with debates on the controversial amendments to the Election Code, which stirred a number of clashes in the last two days between the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, and the opposition. The latter accuse GERB of forcing changes to secure their victory at the 2013 general election.

Guinea: Nearly half of Guinea’s electoral commission signs letter protesting May poll date | The Washington Post

Ten members of Guinea’s electoral commission are voicing concerns about a new plan to hold legislative elections in May. Their letter issued this week is the latest sign of rising tensions among the 25-member electoral commission, including a previous dispute that erupted into violent street protests. The commission is tasked with organizing legislative elections in Guinea, a West African country that has not had a functioning parliament for four years.

South Africa: Fear and loathing: ANC electoral commission and the media | Daily Maverick

On Thursday that much reviled species, South African media professionals and their international colleagues, convened at the headquarters of the African National Congress, Albert Luthuli House. We went there expecting to glean some official confirmation of who will be standing for leadership positions at the ANC’s national conference in Mangaung this weekend. Now for those of you fortunate enough to be saved the ignominy that comes with being a journalist knocking at the door of Luthuli House, those press briefings you’ve seen on television like the one where Julius Malema was excommunicated from the broad church of the ANC, take place in the foyer of Luthuli House. There is no specially appointed media briefing room. There is rarely sufficient seating. Electrical wiring for cameras and other equipment run out of the room onto the pavement outside and on Thursday the acoustics were especially bad.

South Korea: Absentee ballots to count in South Korean election for first time | Asahi Shimbun

South Korea’s Dec. 19 presidential election will make history as the first to accept absentee ballots from voters living in Japan, including many long-term ethnic Korean residents denied a vote in Japanese elections. On Dec. 5 the South Korean Embassy opened its doors to voters, admitting them to a makeshift polling station inside. “Fill out ballots here,” said signs in Korean and Japanese affixed to a row of booths. After verifying voters’ identification, embassy staff explained what to do. “This is the first time I have ever voted in my life. My hands were shaking,” said 85-year-old Rhee Sang-bae, 85, whose eyes moistened as he spoke. Rhee had traveled by bus and train from Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture.

National: U.S. Should Consider Automatic Voter Registration: Holder | Bloomberg

The U.S. should consider automatically registering eligible voters and extending voting hours to counter the November election’s long lines and administrative hurdles, Attorney General Eric Holder said. Holder, speaking today at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, proposed expanding access for voters and overhauling a registration system he called “antiquated.” “It is important for national leaders, academic experts, and members of the public to engage in a frank, thorough and inclusive discussion about how our election systems can be made stronger and more accessible,” Holder said in prepared remarks.

National: GOP consultant: Voter ID, long lines help “our side” | Salon.com

A Republican consultant admitted that Voter ID laws and long lines at the polls help Republicans win elections, saying that, “A lot of us are campaign officials — or campaign professionals — and we want to do everything we can to help our side. Sometimes we think that’s voter ID, sometimes we think that’s longer lines — whatever it may be.” Huffington Post, which first pointed out the comments, reports that Tranter owns Vlytics, a “data consulting” company that was paid more than $3000 by Mitt Romney’s campaign.

California: Special election could cost $1.7 million; officials look for ways to improve efficiency | Redding Record

When it’s all added up, the special election to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Doug LaMalfa, who has moved on to Congress, could cost north state counties more than $1.7 million. … County boards over the next few days will be asked to spend additional money to hold the special election. The amounts range from $35,000 in Colusa County to $362,000 in Butte County. The extra expense in Butte County, the most populous county in the district, takes into account, among things, the cost to hire poll workers and set up polling sites. It does not factor the costs for the regular elections staff.

Mississippi: Hosemann: Study may help win approval for Mississippi voter ID law | The Clarion-Ledger