Editorials: Keeping Virginians from voting | The Washington Post

For decades Virginia has allowed residents who lack proof of identification or whose IDs have been lost or stolen to vote, provided they are listed in the voting rolls and sign sworn statements attesting to their identities. Now, in response to no known problem, Republicans are backing a change already approved by the House of Delegates that would allow such citizens to cast only provisional ballots, which would be counted only if their identities were subsequently verified with IDs. Given that 11 percent of voting-age citizens nationally lack photo IDs, that would place unmanageable burdens on thousands of would-be voters in the commonwealth. The bill’s chief sponsor is Del. Mark R. Cole (R-Fredericksburg), whose previous claim to fame was a bill in 2010 banning employers from planting microchips in their workers, on the grounds that doing so might enable a surreptitious incursion by the antichrist. Yes, really.

Virginia: House Narrowly Passes Bill to Allow Write-ins in Primaries | Ballot Access News

On February 3, the Virginia House passed HB 1132, the bill to allow write-ins in primaries, if the party holding the primary wants write-ins. The vote was 50-49. Republican legislators were more supportive of the bill than Democratic legislators. Republicans supported it by a margin of 38-28. However, Democrats opposed it, with 11 “yes” votes but 21 “no” votes. The lone independent, Delegate Lacey Putney, voted in favor of write-ins.

Myanmar: Myanmar panel says Suu Kyi can run for Parliament | Associated Press

Myanmar’s Election Commission on Monday gave opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi the green light to run for parliamentary by-elections, another step toward political openness in a country emerging from nearly a half-century of iron-fisted military rule. Suu Kyi announced her intention last month to run in the April elections but was waiting for official approval from the commission, which said it had to scrutinize her eligibility. A spokesman for Suu Kyi’s party said the commission approved her candidacy and would make a formal announcement later Monday. “There is no objection to her nomination and we can say that her candidacy is officially accepted,” Nyan Win said.

Colombia: Colombia to introduce electronic voting in 2014 | Colombia Reports

The Colombian government plans to implement an electronic voting system for the 2014 elections,reports newspaper Vanguardia. Government officials made the announcement in collaboration with the Interior Ministry Sunday. A forum led by Senator Juan Manuel Galan Pachon outlined a number of implementations that would improve Colombia‘s electoral system, including electronic voting, a fingerprinting system, and voter registration. Pachon said that modernizing the electoral system would combat crimes like buying of votes, impersonation, identity theft, and ‘transhumance’ — a method of electoral manipulation where voters move to cities other than their place of residence in order to vote for a particular candidate.

Egypt: Egypt Speeds Preparation for Presidential Vote | ABC News

Egypt’s military leader told electoral officials Monday to speed preparations for presidential elections after a new eruption of street protests demanding that the ruling generals move more quickly to hand power to an elected government. The military rulers had previously promised to hold presidential elections for their successor by the end of June. But Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the ruling military council, asked election commission officials “to quickly finish legal procedures for presidency nominations,” according to Egypt’s state-run news agency MENA. Election Commission Chief Abdel-Moez Ibrahim told The Associated Press that based on Tantawi’s orders, nominations for president would be accepted March 10, a month earlier than the original date. He didn’t give a date for elections, but it was an indication that the vote may be held about a month ahead of schedule.

India: `None of Above’ can’t be installed for coming elections | The Economic Times

The Election Commission of India (ECI) and State Election Commission (SEC) today informed the Bombay High Court that it would not be possible to install a `No Vote’ panel on the Electronic Voting Machines to be used in the municipal and Zilla Parishad elections in Maharashtra, to be held this month. The division bench headed by Justice D D Sinha was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Thane-based Dr Mahesh Bedekar, seeking no-vote option in EVMs, as the present system does not guard the secrecy of the voter casting a negative vote.

Editorials: Need for a paper trail | Daily Pioneer

It’s not fair to impose electronic voting machines as a substitute for paper ballots because there’s no way voters can verify which way their vote went. The Election Commission may have won the legal battle vis-à-vis the efficacy of electronic voting machines in view of the recent judgement of the Delhi High Court, but it has a lot of work to do if it wishes to remove the prevailing scepticism about these machines. Though Justice AK Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, who heard Mr Subramanian Swamy’s petition, said they could not issue a mandamus directing the Election Commission to introduce the system of paper trail, they had advised it to take note of the apprehensions that EVMs may be vulnerable to fraud and that there could be security issues.

Kuwait: Veteran politician says negative phenomena impacted Kuwait election outcome | gulfnews

A veteran Kuwaiti politician has blamed the emergence of sectarianism as an important factor to be elected to parliament. “The emergence of chaos and of negative phenomena, including the sectarian dimension, has enabled people to reach the parliament,” Ahmad Al Khatib, the deputy chairman of the 1962 constituent assembly that drafted the constitution, said. “ The emergence of chaos and of negative phenomena, including the sectarian dimension, has enabled people to reach the parliament ”

Palestine: Abbas named as candidate for prime minister | Maan News

President Abbas has been put forward as a candidate for prime minster of an interim government, a Ma’an source said Sunday. The proposal was made as Abbas and Hamas chief-in-exile Khalid Mashaal agreed to form a unity government during a Sunday meeting in the Qatari capital. The proposal was reportedly made by Qatar’s Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa and endorsed by Hamas, Israeli news site Ynet said. Sources close to Abbas, who wished to remain anonymous, told Ma’an that the decision is not certain and that the role of prime minister could be an added burden on the President.

Yemen: Election preparations start in conflict-torn Yemen | Reuters

Yemen has begun a publicity campaign to get citizens to vote in the upcoming presidential election, officials said on Monday, part of a deal to ease President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of office and pull the country back from the brink of civil war. With Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi as the only candidate in the Feb. 21 vote, there are fears of a low turnout that would dent the legitimacy of the man expected to lead Yemen during a two-year interim period when crucial decisions, dealing with restructuring the armed forms and introducing constitutional reforms, are expected to be taken. “Your vote protects Yemen,” read a giant poster hung in the capital Sanaa, depicting a smiling woman in a pink headscarf as she places her ballot into a voting box.

The Voting News Daily: Nevada caucuses: State GOP rolls snake eyes, Tempers flare at chaotic ‘sundown caucus’

Nevada: Nevada caucuses: State GOP rolls snake eyes | Politico.com The biggest loser in Nevada’s Republican caucuses? The state’s feckless GOP. Unable to control how its county parties count and report results, state Republicans were scrambling Sunday to explain why, almost 24 hours after most caucuses ended, the votes still have not been counted. Here in Clark…

Nevada: State GOP rolls snake eyes | Politico.com

The biggest loser in Nevada’s Republican caucuses? The state’s feckless GOP. Unable to control how its county parties count and report results, state Republicans were scrambling Sunday to explain why, almost 24 hours after most caucuses ended, the votes still have not been counted. Here in Clark County, home to two-thirds of the state’s population, officials counted ballots, by hand, until 4 a.m. before calling it a night. Counting resumed again at 9 a.m. By 11 a.m. local time Sunday, only half of the county’s ballots had been counted. “About midway through the night I said, ‘This is ludicrous,’” state GOP Chairman Amy Tarkanian said Sunday morning. “So I sent my state party people down there, including my husband, and said, ‘Go help them count, this is crazy.’”

Nevada: Tempers flare at chaotic ‘sundown caucus’ | ReviewJournal.com

A Republican caucus event timed to accommodate observant Jews who wouldn’t break Sabbath devolved into a fracas about religion and politics and made for a feisty conclusion to Nevada’s presidential nominating process. Hundreds of people crowded into the Adelson Educational Campus in Summerlin witnessed repeated clashes between local Republican party officials and would-be caucus-goers who resented being required to affirm their religious beliefs before being allowed to participate. The disputes overshadowed the intent of the caucus to choose a Republican nominee for president, especially since former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had already been declared the winner in Nevada before the evening event started.

National: Oscars vote vulnerable to cyber-attack under new online system, experts warn | guardian.co.uk

Computer security experts have warned that the 2013 Oscars ballot may be vulnerable to a variety of cyber attacks that could falsify the outcome but remain undetected, if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences follows through on its decision to switch to internet voting for its members. The Academy announced last week that it would be ditching its current vote-by-mail system and allowing its members to fill out electronic ballots from their home or office computers to make their choices for best picture and the other big Hollywood prizes, starting in 2013. It announced a partnership with Everyone Counts, a California-based company which has developed software for internet elections from Australia to Florida, and boasted it would incorporate “multiple layers of security” and “military-grade encryption techniques” to maintain its reputation for scrupulous honesty in respecting its members’ voting preferences.

The change will be a culture shock for an Academy voting community that tends to skew older and more conservative: indeed, concerns are already surfacing whether all of the Academy voters even have email addresses. And the claims have been met with deep scepticism by a computer scientist community which has grappled for years with the problem of making online elections fully verifiable while maintaining ballot secrecy – in other words, being rigorous about auditing the voting process but still making sure nobody knows who voted for what. So far, nobody has demonstrated that such a thing is possible.

National: Stephen Colbert’s not-so-super super PAC | latimes.com

Reporting from Washington –— Determined not to be “the only chump” without a committee to collect “unlimited corporate money,” satirist Stephen Colbert went to the Federal Election Commission last summer to petition for permission to form his own “super PAC.” He won, and instantly started swiping credit cards as he delivered a knock-knock joke to the throng of fans who’d gathered to greet him.
“Knock knock?” Colbert said.
“Who’s there?” the crowd replied.
“Unlimited union and corporate campaign contributions.”
“Unlimited union and corporate campaign contributions who?”
“That’s the thing,” he said. “I don’t think I should have to tell you.”

Like all super PAC operators, Colbert, the host of Comedy Central’s late-night faux news show “The Colbert Report,” filed forms this week that disclosed the source of the nearly $1 million his super PAC raised last year. It turns out the vast majority of it would have been legal without the much-maligned Supreme Court ruling that prompted the creation of super PACs and has been the butt of Colbert’s jokes.

Alabama: Justice Department move might propel Shelby County, Alabama voting case to U.S. Supreme Court | al.com

The chances that Shelby County’s challenge to the Voting Rights Act will make it to the U.S. Supreme Court have improved since the Justice Department announced it is rethinking its position in a similar North Carolina case. In a Jan. 30 letter to a lawyer for a group of voters in Kinston, NC., the assistant attorney general for civil rights said the agency has new information and will reconsider its 2009 objection to the city’s switch to nonpartisan elections. Assuming the Justice Department formally withdraws that objection, Kinston’s related lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act goes away.

Indiana: Democrats hope to have their candidate in elections office next week | The Washington Post

While Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels held off Saturday on appointing a permanent replacement for the state elections chief convicted early that morning of voter fraud, Democrats said they planned to move quickly to wrest control of the politically powerful office from the GOP. A jury from Hamilton County, just north of Indianapolis, deliberated for 13 hours before convicting Republican Secretary of State Charlie White on six felony charges. Among other things, White was accused of lying about his address on voter registration forms. Indiana law does not allow felons to hold statewide office, and Daniels quickly appointed White’s chief deputy, Jerry Bonnet, as interim secretary of state. But the governor said he was holding off on naming a permanent replacement because a judge could reduce the charge to a misdemeanor, allowing White to regain the office.

Indiana: Jury finds Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White guilty on 6 of 7 felony charges | The Indianapolis Star

Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was convicted of six felonies early this morning, and consequently lost his job. But the Republican could get it back soon. White, 42, Fishers, plans to ask a judge to reduce his convictions – all class D felonies – to misdemeanors at sentencing. It’s uncertain whether that move would allow him to reclaim his job. “We don’t know the right answer to that,” White said. “This is all very new.” Shortly after White’s verdict was read, Gov. Mitch Daniels announced in a news release shortly before 3 a.m. that he has appointed Jerry Bonnet, White’s chief deputy, as interim secretary of state.

Indiana: Politics around White’s office ‘a mess’ | Journal and Courier

Fifteen months have passed since the polls closed in Indiana’s last secretary of state election. But the battle over who should hold the office is far from being finished. There have been political challenges and a lawsuit; a criminal trial and a conviction but still no definitive result. Simply put, it’s “a mess,” said one political expert. Charlie White, the elected officer, was convicted of six felony charges, including voter fraud, early Saturday morning, which removed him from office. But he could be reinstated on a technicality. Meanwhile, Gov. Mitch Daniels appointed White’s chief deputy, Jerry Bonnet, as to be his interim replacement. Democrats, however, claim they’ve won the office because of a Marion County judge’s ruling that has not yet been enforced.

Indiana: Voter Fraud Verdict ‘a Travesty,’ Says Convicted Indiana Secretary Of State | Fox News

Calling the jury verdict, “a travesty,” Indiana’s former top elections official vows to appeal the decision that found him guilty of multiple counts of voter fraud, which has resulted in his temporary removal from office. Republican Secretary of State Charlie White was charged with illegally registering to vote at his ex-wife’s house and was convicted on six of seven felony voter related counts in the early hours Saturday morning by a Hamilton County jury in Noblesville, Ind., just north of Indianapolis. “I found out that Indiana is a land of men and not of law,” White said in an exclusive Fox News interview on Sunday in which he contended that the jury was not given the full instructions on the charges by prosecutors. “What I think happened yesterday was a total miscarriage of justice and a perversion. The law allows me to do everything I did and the jury did not get all the law.”

Kentucky: Kentucky weighs restoring voting rights to felons | The Courier-Journal

Restaurant manager Jason Marvin Smith of Elizabethtown said he accepts full responsibility for a felony that landed him on probation as an 18-year-old for possessing a half-ounce of marijuana while driving his car with an improperly stowed gun. But what riles him is that after completing his probation, he still could not vote. “I was in civil purgatory,” said Smith, now 32, who lost his voting rights for years before a governor’s pardon restored them last year. Kentucky is one of only four states that permanently bar all felons from the polls — unless they get a pardon from the governor. Smith and others are fighting to change that.

Maine: Caucuses begin in Maine, results kept under wraps | Bangor Daily News

A group of Unity Republicans cast their votes Sunday afternoon at the Unity Union Church meeting hall in a straw poll that capped one of the very first caucuses to be held in Maine. But the winner of the poll will remain secret for two more weeks, organizers said, as Republican party members in Maine work to make the state’s scattered caucus system more relevant nationally. The caucus information will be compiled by state party officials, who will release statewide presidential straw poll results on Feb. 11 at a big party meeting at the Portland Regency, according to Susan Russell, the longtime chairperson of the Unity Republicans.

Nevada: Move Over, Iowa, Nevada Has A Caucus Problem Too | NPR

Imagine this: You’re the Super Bowl host city, and you’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get the big game in your town. Now everyone’s watching as the game comes to an end, and you can’t get the scoreboard to work. Suddenly no one’s sure who’s ahead or how much time is left to play. That nightmare scenario probably could not happen. But we have seen some highly improbable events lately that embarrassed the host states in the presidential nominating process. Iowa Republican Party Chairman Matt Strawn resigned this week, taking the hit for the botch that was made of the caucus count in his state last month. Mitt Romney was initially declared the winner, then told he had finished second by 34 votes behind Rick Santorum. But the party admitted it was not really sure, and some votes might be missing. Ouch.

Nevada: GOP dealing with ‘trouble box’ of questionable ballots | Las Vegas Sun

Republican Party officials are trying to figure out how to deal with a “trouble box” of ballots from the presidential caucus Sunday as the count in Nevada’s largest county stretches into its second day. Party officials have confirmed that ballots in multiple precincts exceeded the number of voters who signed in. The “trouble box” also includes ballots on which two candidates were marked and other irregularities. David Gallagher, executive director of the state party, could not confirm or even give a rough estimate of the number of ballots in question. “It’s a small number,” he said.

Nevada: Nevada GOP caucuses include unusual rules | San Francisco Chronicle

Today’s Republican caucuses in Nevada differ from primary elections by requiring voters to devote a block of time to make their preferences known in a process that takes more time than just filling out a ballot. There are also some unusual rules set this year by the GOP officials in the state.

Timing: Republican Party officials in each county decide when to hold caucus meetings. In Clark County, home to Las Vegas and 70 percent of state residents, the meetings are at 9 a.m. today – a time that is inconvenient for the city’s taxi drivers, waitresses and other service employees who work on weekends.

Ohio: Senate Republicans take another crack at election reform before the fall presidential election | cleveland.com

Ohio might have new voting laws in place before the November presidential election after all. Senate Republicans are working on a plan that would repeal last year’s controversial election overhaul package and replace it with a more narrow set of reforms that could take effect before the Nov. 6 election. The latest changes would incorporate some ideas from the GOP’s previous attempt at reform – House Bill 194 – and prior legislative efforts that ultimately failed. Democrats say the sudden push for new election laws is nothing more than a political ploy to tilt the presidential election in Republicans’ favor. But Republicans insist their only interest is to improve election day operations.
Regardless of motive, the potential for voter confusion is high, because lawmakers have been tinkering with election laws since the beginning of last year. If they pass new legislation before the fall election, voters will be casting ballots under different rules than the March 6 primary.

Finland: Election Victory: 62.6% for Niinistö | YLE Uutiset | yle.fi

With nearly 100% of the vote counted, National Coalition candidate Sauli Niinisto has won the second and decisive round of Finland’s presidential election. Green League candidate Pekka Haavisto conceded the race just before 9 PM. The win by the National Coalition’s Sauli Niinistö will bring to an end a 30-year era of Social Democratic Party presidents in Finland Green League candidate Pekka Haavisto conceded defeat in his bid for the presidency when about 80% of the vote had been counted and it was evident that Niinistö had polled over 60%. Despite a final spurt in Haavisto’s campaign, support simply did not grow enough to bring him a victory. Even so, Haavisto said he was satisfied with the count. “From the summer’s five percent it is a good rise. Over a million people gave me their backing.”

Finland: Finland votes in second round to elect new president | AFP

Polling stations opened across Finland Sunday for the second round of presidential vote, with conservative Sauli Niinistoe widely expected to triumph over green liberal challenger Pekka Haavisto. Voting began at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) and ends at at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) with final results expected around 2000 GMT on Sunday. The most recent public opinion poll, published Thursday, gave the National Coalition Party’s Niinistoe 62 percent support against 38 percent for the Green League’s Haavisto.

Finland: Pekka Haavisto triples presidential election budget – Niinistö also gets more money in second round | Helsingin Sanomat

Green League candidate Pekka Haavisto has received massive amounts of donations from supporters in the second round of Finland’s presidential elections. By Thursday evening Haavisto’s campaign budget had brown to more than EUR 710,000 – nearly three times higher than the EUR 250,000 reported for the first round. Olli Muurainen, chairman of the executive of Haavisto’s support group, Suomi-Finland 2012 said that most of the money is being spent on advertising. “In the last four days we will spend approximately as much on campaigning in the media that we have spent on the campaign so far”, Muurainen says.

Malaysia: Election Commission chairman clarifies postal voting issue | BorneoPost

Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said yesterday he had never suggested that only tax-paying Malaysians overseas are allowed to become postal voters. Instead, he said, what he suggested was that in determining the eligibility of Malaysians abroad to become postal voters, they might need to fulfill certain conditions as practised in other countries. This is due to the fact that not all Malaysians abroad are eligible to become postal voters, he told reporters after receiving the Umar Abdul Aziz Award at the state-level Maulidur Rasul celebration here yesterday. For instance, he said, there were countries which allowed their citizens to become postal voters provided that they had been abroad no longer than five years and had made a trip back home during the period. In some countries, he said, the period allowable was four years.